July 'Nick's Pix:' DAZED AND CONFUSED

Jun 19
4 min read

Join me for Dazed and Confused, a very Special Nick's Pix Screening on Wednesday, July 9th, at 7 p.m. in Oak Park! Tickets are only $9 ($7 for seniors!) Get your tix HERE!

I am unbelievably thrilled and honored to be hosting a one-night-only screening of Dazed and Confused, Wednesday, July 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the beautiful Lake Theater in downtown Oak Park.

Dazed and Confused: A Masterpiece Worth Livin’ For — And You Can See It With Me On The Big Screen!

There are movies you like. There are movies you love. And then there are movies that become part of who you are. Richard Linklater’s 1993 masterpiece Dazed and Confused is that kind of movie for me.

It’s not just a coming-of-age film. It’s not just a perfect time capsule of 1976. It’s not just one of the greatest ensemble casts ever assembled before they became household names. Dazed and Confused is one of my all-time favorite movies.

I’ve seen it hundreds — yes, hundreds — of times in every format imaginable: in theaters, on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, 4K restoration, projected on film, digital… you name it. This movie is in my DNA.

And now, I get to share it with you — on the big screen — the way it’s meant to be seen. I’ll be hosting a screening of Dazed and Confused at the Lake Theater in Oak Park on Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m., followed by a post-show discussion, behind-the-scenes stories, trivia, and some killer giveaways (T-shirts! Mugs! Movie passes!). We’ll hang out, geek out, and revisit one of the greatest films of the 1990s together.

But first — let’s talk about the film itself.

That One Day in May ’76 That Changed Everything

Set on the last day of school in a sun-drenched Austin, Texas, Dazed and Confused doesn’t follow a traditional plot. There’s no central conflict, no main character. Instead, it follows a mosaic of students — seniors, freshmen, jocks, stoners, nerds, and wallflowers — as they cruise through the final hours of their school year in a haze of paddling rituals, keg parties, classic rock, and existential wonder.

Randall “Pink” Floyd (Jason London) grapples with whether to sign a drug-free pledge for his football coach. Incoming freshman Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) gets initiated in the worst possible way. And then there’s Wooderson… played by a then-unknown Matthew McConaughey, who strolls into cinema history with the line heard around the world: “All right, all right, all right.”

The cast is a who’s who of soon-to-be stars: Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Cole Hauser, Nicky Katt, Renee Zellweger — it’s like the starting lineup for ’90s Hollywood. They didn’t just show up and read lines — they lived these characters. The performances are naturalistic, lived-in, and authentic, thanks to Linklater’s loose structure and encouragement of improvisation.

“Just Keep Livin’” — And Count the Face Touches

This film captures something that few movies even attempt: the texture of teenage life. Not the melodrama, not the nostalgia-for-sale crap — the real feeling of cruising with your friends, the awkwardness of flirty glances, the tension between fitting in and finding yourself, and the sense that everything matters, even when nothing really does. It’s a film that breathes. And it rocks.

The soundtrack is one of the all-time greats — Sabbath, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foghat (that final shot with “Slow Ride” playing? Cinematic perfection). Every needle drop feels earned and essential. The film sounds like 1976. You don’t just watch Dazed and Confused — you feel it.

My personal history with this movie runs deep. Back in the ’90s, my friends and I from the Factory Theater had a weekly ritual: every Thursday night at midnight, we were at the Brew & View at The Vic Theater in Chicago, drinking pitchers of beer and watching Dazed and Confused like it was our cinematic church.

We knew every line. We quoted every character. We even counted how many times Wiley Wiggins touched his face in the Emporium scene — it was a whole thing. We LIVED Dazed and Confused. And honestly, we still do.

More Than a Teen Movie — This Is About Life

Linklater’s brilliance is in the small stuff — the subtle choices, the observational beats. There’s no forced plot. No synthetic drama. Just teenagers figuring it out in real time, over one summer night that feels like it might last forever. That final shot of the open road? That’s what life looks like when you’re 17 and everything’s still in front of you.

It’s funny, poignant, relaxed, rebellious, thoughtful, and packed with characters that feel so real they could’ve gone to your high school. This is not a dumb stoner comedy. It’s smart. It’s lyrical. It’s profound. And yes, it’s endlessly quotable. ("I get older, they stay the same age…")

Come See It With Me — July 9 at The Lake Theater!

So now… YOU get the chance to relive it (or experience it for the first time) in the best way possible — on the big screen with a crowd of fans.

I’ll be hosting this special screening at the beautiful Lake Theater in Oak Park on Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00 p.m. We’re showing the glorious 4K Restoration — and afterward, I’ll be doing a post-show Q&A where we’ll talk about the making of the film, the insane stories behind the scenes, where all these actors ended up, Richard Linklater’s incredible career, and the legacy of Dazed and Confused in the world of cinema.

Plus: trivia, prizes, merch, and more.

So grab your Aerosmith tickets, roll down the windows, and come join me for one of the best movie nights of the summer. Let’s get dazed. Let’s get confused. Let’s celebrate one of the greatest movies ever made.

And remember: “You just gotta keep livin’, man… L-I-V-I-N.”