why this movie didn't work

"movie is ok but tries too hard to be something else"

It tries to be a Dazed and Confused knock-off.

Great post, NotRussian. Love your sig line.
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Every. Single. Time.

pretty typical high school in southern california


There's your first problem. This movie is set in Wilmington, NC and as someone who spent their last 3 years of high school in NC I can attest that there is a LOT of drug, especially marijuana, use. In Southern California, I'm pretty sure there is more stuff to do. In North Carolina, dependent on what part you live in, there is pretty much nothing but drugs, alcohol, sex and parties.

------fair enough. but if thats how high school really is in north carolina, im glad i didnt go to school there. i just wanna add tho that, drugs are probably way more accessible here and high school student do do them, but not everyone does and thats what they made it seem like.

high school guys would NOT go after girls fresh out of middle school.


Question? When did you graduate high school? Because when I was there guys went after younger girls. Why? Because they're seen as "easier". And what was Alexa Vega? A fast freshman.

-----i actually went to high school during the same time this movie was set. the only freshman girls that older guys went after were the really hot, developed ones. not ones who looked like alexis vega in this movie. but then again, maybe thats just another regional thing.


having a guy who is almost 30 play a high school student. could they not find a decent black actor who is 15-20 years old?


I assume you're referring to Wesley Johnathan here? Honestly, have you never seen an older actor play a younger person before? Besides, Wesley pulls it off. He looks the same age, if not younger, than half of the people in their early 20's. If anything, you should be referring to Katrina Begin, who played Sylvia. She is nearly 26 and LOOKS it. The whole time I was wondering to myself "how old is this woman???"

-----okay theres no way he looks younger than 25 to me. and its not like his part was a main character or even that he is a "name actor" who would attract a lot of people to watch this movie simply by having his name above the title. and yes im aware this happens all the time, and i hate when they do it. there are so many capable young actors out there, its stupid to me that they continue to cast these adults in teenage roles.

the whole lucy-dylan thing was so stupid. what kind of girl cheats with her best friends *beep* boyfriend?


haha! I'm not even going to touch on high school "relationships". You should be able to answer your own question here.

----ya ur right, a slut. but like someone above said, everyone in this movie was either a slut, idiot, or dope head. i know high school relationships are stupid. i just didnt like how she went after this guy who she thought was a dirtbag just to set her friend free, like she was actually doing something good.

thanks for the thought out reply tho.









I knew her before you, loved her before you, only I'm not as lucky as you...

agree entirely with your post..i grew up in western ny..nothing to do but party, get drunk, get high, do shrooms, and try and pick up on the younger girls cause they were easier..

this movie nailed it on what life was like for me in highschool and how we partied and obsessed over scoring beer and weed...oh, and i graduated in 2003, so it wasn't that long ago for me to remember..

sure, i guess this movie won't appeal to everyone..but to those of us whose high school lives were composed of partying and hanging with the "cool" kids, then this film nailed it..

"There's your first problem. This movie is set in Wilmington, NC and as someone who spent their last 3 years of high school in NC I can attest that there is a LOT of drug, especially marijuana, use. In Southern California, I'm pretty sure there is more stuff to do. In North Carolina, dependent on what part you live in, there is pretty much nothing but drugs, alcohol, sex and parties."

I went to high school in North Carolina and now I live in Wilmington for college...

And in my home town there was nothing, I repeat, nothing to do for fun. And a lot of kids at my school got drunk and high on a regular basis. But, that said, none of my friends did anything even close to that until college. Even now, I think it's safe to say that none of us have ever even thought about getting high.

And my friends from college who have lived in the Wilmington area their entire lives had similar experiences. Some of them got drunk and high, some of them didn't.

There was definitely not much pressure to do any of those things. You either did it or you didn't and nobody really cared either way. No one at my high school thought you were 'uncool' or 'good-goody' if you didn't. They just did not care, as long as you didn't act like you were going to tell on them.

And all that said, there's a ton of stuff to do in Wilmington, so that whole 'there's nothing to do in NC' thing is not exactly a reason to say this film is realistic.

The problem with this film is that it generalizes everyone and assumes that all teenagers need to drink and get high to have fun, when that's not true at all. I'd go out on a limb and say the majority of teenagers can have fun without those things, whether they do those things or not.

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Hey guys, just checking the board here to help me in deciding whether or not to invest my time in this one and I just have to say that I'm pleased to see such civil discourse. It's nice for a change to hear people with differing viewpoints discuss them without being reduced to childish, defensive behavior. Cheers to intelligent, cogent discussion!

That said, the insight provided is much appreciated as well. Being from the class of '96, I am completely out of the loop in terms of what today's younger generation is into, or not, but the drug use and drinking portrayed I would imagine is fairly accurate. I also attended high school in SoCal and my experience was similar. But I do have a close friend who spent his high school years in Tennessee, outside of Nashville and from the way he used to describe it I've always felt that it was fairly typical of the region.

At any rate, just wanted to chime in briefly and thank you for your complimentary insights on the subject! I'll certainly give ...The Daze a chance after reading your posts.