The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

Both these latest entries are pretty good, but are both far too high on this list, belonging somewhere around the #150 range.

Different strokes!

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Finally, Galaxy Quest's poster actually looks like it belongs with the insane art style.

Dazed and Confused is #12 on my list. Some people watch fireworks on July 4th: I mean, sometimes I do, but I watch this instead. I love "one crazy night" movies and this is among the wildest and craziest. It's also one of the funniest: literally everything McConaughey says and does still makes me crack up. It's a love letter to that last burst of freedom before you have to "adult" and a rebuke to the Ben Afflecks and clueless authority figures like the football coach of the world who would take it away from us. Plus, as someone whose high school experience at that time is closer to Hamilton's in Fast Times, I'm glad it exists so I can live vicariously through everyone (except Affleck, of course)!

Galaxy Quest didn't make my ballot, but I'm glad to see it so high. It rides a fine line of honoring and making fun of Star Trek fans and fandom in general. Maybe you had to be part of a fandom to truly appreciate it? I guess so because I cannot comprehend someone finding it unfunny or terrible. I know, comedy is subjective etc. etc., but it's easier to fool your brain into thinking zero actually equals one.

Dazed and Confused, while good, always seemed kind of written and calculated to me when compared to the teen films from the 70s themselves. It works as a love letter to a bygone era, but I guess I prefer the more authentic takes on 70s teen life in films like Breaking Away, Foxes, and Over the Edge.

I imagine most any fan of Galaxy Quest has already seen this, maybe even more than once, but in case there are newbies to the fold, Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary (2019) is an excellent watch.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Galaxy Quest is a pretty decent comedy, which is a rarity in itself. So I've got to give it points for that. I also mostly like it, but like many comedies, even some of the decent ones, it doesn't really function in any interesting way as a movie for me. And for me to think a comedy is really truly great, without doing that, it has to be funny as ****. And this is at best a chuckler.



Dazed and Confused would be deserving of a top 5 placing, as far as I'm concerned. It's a movie that took me a long time to come around to, I would like bits and pieces but as a whole it kind of left me cold. At least, until it all clicked with me and I just felt every single one of these characters. Adolescent aimlessness has never been more accurately portrayed, at least not by a movie in the dressings as a mainstream pop cultural thing. Which Dazed and Confused actually isn't, which everyone who has complained that 'nothing happens' in it probably agrees with. But I like how it faked American audiences into believing it was going to be your typical teen hang out movie, and then that's literally all it does. It just hangs and floats and never resolves and that's great because nothing is supposed to get resolved in those wonderful, pointless, younger years of ours. You're just supposed to stand in wonder at this new world that is beginning to open up to you. And of course you don't know where it's heading, it's impossible to tell, maybe nowhere, maybe somewhere, it doesn't actually matter...and that's why it's so wonderful in the first place.

YES in every form. I might've only given Galaxy Quest a 95/100, but it remains one of my most watched movies to this day
As a kid I had a good share of Tim Allen, and this movie was more important to me than any Toy Story film. It's a fantastic step forward in the world of parodies for it's more serious take on its attempt at making fun of the subject matter, and you don't even need all that info. It's a good old-fashioned space opera that remains self-aware and as funny as it is exciting.

First time I saw Dazed and Confused, I liked it, but didn't love it for it's weak characterizations. But since it's so similar to Nashville, I need to give it another go.

Seen 44/64

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1. Sense and Sensibility (#49)
3. Apollo 13 (#68)
5. A Few Good Men (#84)
6. The Fifth Element (#56)
15. Galaxy Quest (#38)
21. Starship Troopers (#46)
25. Beautiful Dreamers (1 pointer)

Galaxy Quest. I'm a big Star Trek fan. And not a Tim Allen fan. But am an Alan Rickman fan. So I watched it reluctantly, on the order of two decades ago, and had to admit it was amusing and worthy. Not on my list ... but wouldn't mind doing a rewatch should the opportunity arise (my wife is my movie-viewing partner, and this is definitely not her thing).

Dazed and Confused. Never seen it. Can tell from the trailer and many (many!) reviews it would be too annoyingly silly for me. Still, it gets a abundant adulation and pokes its head up on a lot of "best of" type lists. No, that won't make me watch it. But makes me admit the fault is probably mine, not the movie's.

Seen: 47/64
Ballot: 6/25

My predictions of how my picks will place:

Good Chance: 2/12
-- Rushmore #42 / My #16
-- Jackie Brown #44 / My #13
Fair Chance: 4/10
-- Sense and Sensibility #49 / My #2
-- Clueless: #58 / My #5
-- Sleepless in Seattle: #91 / My #3
-- Office Space: #95 / My #23
No Chance: 0/3

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Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

Dazed and Confused has some great performances and everyone feels like real people. It’s not a time period I’m nostalgic for however so it’s not a favorite of mine.

Galaxy Quest made my list. I’m thrilled it’s so high. A movie about fandom that is even more relevant today since nerd culture exploded in the last twenty years or so. And like many good parodies it also works as just a good adventure in the world it’s making fun of. Sarris is an intimidating villain and I think the idea of the Omega 13 is especially a nice touch because it’s actually adding its own sci-fi concept to the genre. Everyone is nailing their double roles of characters from a TV show and the actors portraying them. And there’s some real weight to important moments as well. The “we lied” scene is heartbreaking. Everything comes together to make a really entertaining fun time.

Just to let you know, I am pulling for your no chancers.

Seen both, liked but not loved both. Boring post, sorry.

The more times I see Dazed and Confused the more I think it is an actual, genreless masterpiece.
What an excellent film.

I watched Rushmore last night and liked it quite a bit. I thought it was clever and funny with the humor coming from insight into the characters and the situation, my type of comedy. It might be my favorite Wes Anderson film, Bottle Rocket might be a close second. Thanks for the recommendation.

I think I've already said this but I just don't like Linklater movies. I've seen six of them, including Dazed and Confused, and they just don't resonate with me.

I haven't seen Galaxy Quest but I keep seeing it come up in countdowns and discussion around the forum so I thought I might check it out. It's not on Kanopy or Tubi, but it turns out that Amazon has the DVD available for about the same price as "renting" it to stream from them so I pulled the trigger and ordered it. It should be here tomorrow. Hopefully it's in line with the other silly Sci-Fi from the 90s that I enjoy.

Seen: 52/64
My Balllot:
7. A Perfect World (#61)
9. Point Break (#79)
10. Edward Scissorhands (#64)
12. True Romance (#94)
17. The Fifth Element (#56)
24. Interview With the Vampire (#92)
25. Untamed Heart (One Pointer)

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It's really not silly at all. That's why it lands in this weird No Man's Land for a lot of people because how do you make an un-silly Teen Movie about one day in the life of high-school kids where nothing happens. The studio tried to market it as a Teen Comedy because what the hell were they gonna do with it but it is fully a Linklater film about a particular time of life.

Didn’t exactly feel like had to rec it, but I’m pleased you watched and enjoyed it. Bottle Rocket would probably be #2 for me if I ranked his films off pure laughs. I think it’s really great. There’s a line or two from that movie that comes up with me and my youngest pretty often. Very funny flick.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Seen both. Galaxy Quest is pretty great, but I only found Dazed and Confused merely passable. Not a huge Linklater fan.

Both are great movies that didn't quite make my list.


I like Galaxy Quest very much, but I didn't expect it to get this high. I'm not a Tim Allen fan, but Alan Rickman was fantastic. He really stole the show. Tony Shalhoub was also very good. It's a light, feel good comedy with a lot of memorable moments.


Dazed and Confused is a real classic, filled with great stars. The plot definitely wanders around a bit aimlessly, but that's part of its stoner charm. It's funny to look back and marvel at how creepy McConaughey would've seemed if he wasn't so mind blowingly handsome and charming.


Seen: 29/62
List: 6/25

It's not silly at all. It's got the vibe of a comedy, and is definitely funny, but it's played with a day-in-the-lilfe type realism. Someone mentioned Nashville, and while it's an imperfect comparison, it's still a fair one.