Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling which brings people together. However, not everyone feels the same about the past. Memory tends to be distorted, where mediocre becomes great and uneventful becomes spectacular. Richard Linklater wrote Dazed and Confused as anti-nostalgia, but time has proven that the public clings passionately and wistfully to what he has shied away from. Linklater hailed from Huntsville, Texas where the prison loomed for some as a home or future employment. As a teenager, the nights provided an escape from the dreary routine. Linklater utilized this as a backdrop for the focus of his cinematic big break. Linklater used locals and friends for his Indie Sleeper Slacker, but now with backing from Universal, he was able to cast on a grander scale. Soon “Dazed and Confused” would bring in actors from Los Angeles, New York, and Texas to star in his adolescent roman a clef. The stage was set for a buzzworthy release with an impact still being felt nearly thirty years later.

In Alright, Alright, Alright, Author Melissa Maerz brings together countless crew & personalities to relate the fun, occasionally dangerous, frustrating filming of a beloved film. Maerz provides a well-written background to each chapter where she elicits the laughter, sadness, memories of many of her interviewees. The friendships made, the grudges held, the excessive partying all make for a fantastically endearing read.