web counter
 

Which Film Has the Biggest Legacy?

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Think Pieces | Comments (37)

e-gall-schoolties-395x298.jpg

Richard Linklater often gets a lot of credit for launching the careers of many of the actors and actresses in his seminal, coming-of-age high school film, Dazed and Confused. But the reality is, Richard Linklater didn’t launch some of those careers. Dick Wolf did. Yes: The guy behind “Law & Order” and all of their spin-offs. Wolf wrote a not-so-seminal high-school coming of age film that came out the year before Dazed and Confused. It was called School Ties, a movie that launched as many or more careers as Dazed and Confused.

Linklater is often cited as having created the successor to the Brat Pack, but did he really? And which movie had the superior cast? Which movie fared better with audiences? And finally, which movie has had the biggest legacy?

Let’s consider the facts:

Round 1

  • Dazed and Confused launched the career of Jason London. What’s he doing now? Crap, that’s what.

  • School Ties launched the career of Brendan Fraser. What’s he doing now? Crap, but crap that makes a lot of money.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 2

  • Dazed and Confused launched the career of Rory Cochrane. What’s he doing now? Pretty much nothing of value since Empire Records.

  • School Ties: Launched the career of Chris O’Donnell? What’s he doing now? After starring in Scent of a Woman, Batman and Robin and a series of Hollywood hits, O’Donnell is now the star of his own top-rated CBS procedural.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 3

  • Dazed and Confused: Launched the career of Adam Goldberg, who was the crazy roommate in “Friends,” and last we heard, had a supporting role in a ensemble procedural, “The Unusuals,” that was cancelled before its first season had ended.

  • School Ties: Helped launch the career of Oscar-winner Matt Damon, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 4

  • Dazed and Confused: Launched the career of Joey Lauren Adams, who most recently had a small recurring role on “The United States of Tara.”

  • School Ties: Launched the career of Cole Hauser, who would subsequently appear in Dazed and Confused, as well as a lengthy career in B-movies.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 5

    Dazed and Confused: Featured Ben Affleck, who was first featured in School Ties

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 6: Features Anthony Rapp, who was >featured in School Ties before Dazed and Confused.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 7

    Dazed and Confused: Supporting cast included Milla Jovovich, Nicky Katt, and Parker Posey.

    School Ties: Supporting cast included Kevin Tighe, Randall Batinkoff, and Amy Locaine.

    Winner: Dazed and Confused

    Round 8:

    Dazed and Confused made $8 million at the box office.

    School Ties made $14 million at the box office.

    Winner: School Ties

    Round 9:

    Dazed and Confused: Had an unspoken role for Renee Zellwegger and turned down Vince Vaughn, who auditioned for the movie.

    Winner: School Ties, by default

    Final Round:

    Dazed and Confused: Remembered fondly as one of the best cult films of all time, one of the best high school films of all time, and one of the funniest movies of the past 25 years.

    School Ties: Was once parodied in an episode of “The Family Guy”

    Winner By Massive, Head-Exploding Come-from-Behind Knock-Out: Dazed and Confused

    Post-Victory Lapdance:









    Each Time You Like, Share, Tweet or Stumble a Pajiba Post, An Angel Does the Paul Rudd Dance

    ← City Island Review | The Sleeper Indie Hit of the Year? | The Death of the Movie Theater | In Which I Get Cranky And Old →









    Comments

    "The Unusuals" you knucklehead.

    Posted by: Kballs at August 25, 2010 1:37 PM

    • HA!

    Posted by: admin at August 25, 2010 1:43 PM

    Reason #8,537,936 that networks are incompetent:

    ABC had Jeremy Renner locked down in an interesting, smart, funny, original cop show and cancelled it right before "The Hurt Locker" went on an award-gobbling world tour. Good call, ingrates.

    No bitterness here. No siree.

    Posted by: Kballs at August 25, 2010 1:43 PM

    I'm not sure where it fits in the scoring but Dazed is primarily responsible for Matthew McShirtless, right? If not, it's at leats his only decent role.

    Posted by: swingdude at August 25, 2010 1:46 PM

    No mention of the McCon-a-hey? It's be better if you did but that's alrigh'...

    Posted by: bananapanda at August 25, 2010 1:49 PM

    No mention of the McCon-a-hey?

    It'd be better if you did- but that's alrigh'...

    Posted by: bananapanda at August 25, 2010 1:49 PM

    I would argue that School Ties was the better movie. I wouldn't watch Dazed if it were on TV, but would watch School Ties if it were on TV.

    Posted by: really at August 25, 2010 1:51 PM

    It seems like ths site is decicated to dissing all of the great movies of the past 25-30 years. I've noticed this trend since he Warriors when will it end?

    Posted by: Candy at August 25, 2010 1:52 PM

    School Ties is amazing. Also, I remember as a teenager pausing on one scene where Brendan Fraser sits on his bed and the fly of his boxers opens up. Also...shower scene. Those dudes listed above naked and wet. I watched this a lot. When I was younger, of course...

    Slightly related note, when this movie airs on TBS, they remove the LAST LINE of the film, which completely changes the whole ending and gives the bad guy the last word. I was filled with youthful righteous indignation when I saw that at the time.

    Posted by: KatSings at August 25, 2010 1:53 PM

    But where does "Can't Hardly Wait" fit into this equation?

    Confession: I had a photo of Matt Damon in School Ties hanging in my locker in 7th grade, and all the other girls thought it was "so weird that you love the mean one."

    Posted by: shell at August 25, 2010 1:54 PM

    I saw School Ties on a date. It was mediocre. The date and movie.

    Posted by: Tracer Bullet at August 25, 2010 1:54 PM

    Anthony Rapp, who was first featured in School Ties

    Dustin, Dustin, DUSTIN...

    Posted by: Jay at August 25, 2010 2:06 PM

    Adventures in Babysitting had a mini-Rapp. I'm still mad at him for being out sick the first time I saw Rent.

    Posted by: Julie at August 25, 2010 2:17 PM

    Yeah, he's just pretending he's ten years younger again. "Adventures in what?"

    Posted by: Jay at August 25, 2010 2:48 PM

    Enjoyed reading this. Dazed And Confused rules. I doubt I will ever watch School Ties.

    Posted by: DarthCorleone at August 25, 2010 2:59 PM

    Isn't Rory Cochrane on one of those procedural shows too?

    Posted by: Sara at August 25, 2010 3:02 PM

    can you make this movie vs. movie a reoccurring feature on pajiba? it's pretty entertaining.

    Posted by: brunette at August 25, 2010 3:11 PM

    genius - love it.

    Posted by: alexa - cleveland's a plum at August 25, 2010 3:16 PM

    Per Round 2: Rory Cochrane was on a CBS procedural as well. What a co-inky-dink.

    Posted by: nerf at August 25, 2010 3:23 PM

    School Ties for the most homoerotic fight scene of all time.

    Posted by: Cory at August 25, 2010 3:45 PM

    What the hell ever happened to Wiley Wiggins? Wasn't he well on his way to becoming a 1990s Michael Cera prototype?

    Posted by: JudoChop at August 25, 2010 3:50 PM

    I haven't seen School Ties since it came out (but actually would like to view it again). On the other hand, I own the Criterion set for Dazed & Confused. Dazed wins hands down in my book.

    Posted by: Nicole at August 25, 2010 4:09 PM

    I have, for years, confused School Ties with Swing Kids - Embarrassing, but true.
    I'm getting befuddled right now while reading the article.

    Posted by: ninetwenteetoo at August 25, 2010 4:44 PM

    @judochop - he's now pitching for the Giants:
    http://a.espncdn.com/i/mag/blog/lincecum-bts.jpg

    Posted by: h8rade at August 25, 2010 4:47 PM

    I could not, for the life of me, stay interested while watching Dazed and Confused. Great, a bunch of kids acting stupid, getting stoned, and hitting each other with cricket bats. I don't have to pay to see shit I can get for free near any small-town high school.
    However, good old-fashioned prep school antisemitism is harder to come by on the open market-- at least, for those of us not in the prep schools.

    Posted by: Jim Doggie at August 25, 2010 5:23 PM

    I have never seen Dazed and Confused and, oddly, have no desire to see it.

    I have, however, watched School Ties multiple times. God, how I love that movie.

    So many pretty, pretty boys and Brendan dancing. I don't care what you fuckers say about Brendan I will always love him for:

    1. His natural ability to dance; and
    2. George of the Jungle

    Oh Brendan - you spend half the movie practically naked and swinging through trees and the other half running with horses while dressed in formal clothing. Yowza.

    Excuse me, I have to go visit Admin's house, uh I mean, retire to the boudr....dammit to hell, what phrase do we use now when trying to convey our overwhelming desire to have play time with ourselves?

    Posted by: Kelly at August 25, 2010 11:25 PM

    The indication among many of these comments is that Brendan Fraser is in some way attractive. First of all, gross. Second of all, Oh my god, gross. And Dazed and Confused is the definitive high school movie. School Ties is a stupid joke. "Oh no, he's a jew."

    Posted by: John G. at August 25, 2010 11:42 PM

    Rory Cochrane was also hilarious in A Scanner Darkly.

    "Dazed launched Milla Jovovich, Nicky Katt, and Parker Posey." Um, no. Milla was in some weird Kathmandu Disney movie when she was like 13 and they were calling her the next Brooke Shields, and it was clear to a very young me that she was HOTTTTTTT!

    Oh, and AIRRRRR RAIDDDDDD! Dazed wins by a mile just on Parker Posey's role alone.

    If anybody else has something to say bout it, I got a great big ole "FAH Q" for ya right here.

    Posted by: EJ at August 26, 2010 7:14 AM

    I had absolutely no desire to see Dazed and Confused for years. And then I saw it. It's one of those movies where absolutely nothing happens, but you don't want it to end. There's no message, there are no plot contrivances, there are no gimmicks, just a movie that makes you feel like you're hanging out with your old high school friends. Side effects may include convincing yourself that high school was much, much better than it really was.

    Posted by: Craig at August 26, 2010 10:04 AM

    I am probably biased but I am shocked and appalled at the lack of love for Dazed and Confused. I'm not saying School Ties is a bad film but Dazed is classic.

    I would be interested if DVD sales of both films were compared what the outcome would be because Dazed was discovered after its theatre run and named cult classic.

    How do we not compare the soundtrack of the two? Hands down, Dazed would win - Aerosmith, Derringer, Foghat, Alice Cooper, ZZ Top, Skynrd, The Runaways, and the list continues.

    Some of the best quotes that still live on:

    "Party at the Moontower"
    "Chicks don't want to hear that shit, check you later, check you later."
    "Lick me, all of you!"
    "Now fry like bacon you little freshman piggies, fry!"
    "It'd be a whole lot cooler if you did."

    Joey Lauren Adams was in Mallrats, Bio Dome, Chasing Amy, oh wait, save Mallrats. But Parker Posey is the god damn indie queen and you can't touch that shit. Darla rules.


    Posted by: TVConnoisseur at August 26, 2010 3:33 PM

    Dazed and Confused was a number of things, but "one of the funniest movies of the last 25 years?

    No.

    It isn't in the Top Ten.

    It isn't in the Top Twenty.

    It isn't in the Top 40.

    Shit, it isn't in the Top 100, which means that it isn't one of the funniest movies of the past 25 years.

    Tools.

    Now print this and get back to sucking my cock.

    Posted by: The Mad Fapper at August 26, 2010 4:06 PM

    School Ties was ruined when I was forced to watch it at Jewish summer camp and at hebrew school, and then at public school as part of our diversity training. I get it, being a Jew in the northeast used to really suck.

    Posted by: benjiep at August 26, 2010 5:48 PM

    What the fuck is School Ties? I've honestly never even heard of it before this post right now.

    Dazed and Confused is awesome, though.

    Posted by: Jason Harris at August 26, 2010 7:43 PM

    I don't care what people say, I love Brendan Fraser. What's he doing now? Not all crap, and yes, they make a lot of money!

    Posted by: ektina at August 30, 2010 5:38 AM

    I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.I think you have done an excellent job with your blog. I will return in the near future.I had bookmark it :)

    Posted by: Cheap fashion dresses at January 5, 2011 9:41 PM

    I thought it was going to be some boring old post, but it really compensated for my time. I will post a link to this page on my blog. I am sure my visitors will find that very useful.I think you have done an excellent job with your blog. I will return in the near future.I had bookmark it :)

    Posted by: wholesale fashion dresses at January 5, 2011 9:57 PM

    That was intriguing . I like your style that you put into your writing . Please do move forward with more similar to this.

    Posted by: snowmobile at February 24, 2011 2:12 AM