Richard Linklater is being sued by three former high school classmates on the basis that they were not asked if their surnames could be used for three of the main characters in his 1993 seminal stoner film “Dazed and Confused.” The plaintiffs, Richard Floyd, Andy Slater and Bobby Wooderson, who attended Huntsville High School with Linklater in Texas, are claiming that due to the characteristics of the characters in the movie that people assume that is how they act in real life. Slater in particular is perturbed due to the fact that in the movie the character bearing his name is a complete and total burnout that imbibes copious amounts of illegal drugs. While the act of slander is a serious offense, which is the chief charge in this case, there is a bigger issue at stake here. It is one that everyone who loves this movie, which includes anyone between the ages of 14-32, especially those who were in college and high school at the time the movie came out, is simply mystified by. Pink, Slater and Wooderson were real? Seriously?

Anyone who has seen Dazed and Confused and is in the mentioned demographic places this movie on a lofty perch. It is the quintessential movie of its time, spawning more classic scenes, catchphrases and memorable characters than any movie in the past 15 years. Pulp Fiction comes close, but in the end, people are going to go with a movie that makes them smile rather than freaks them out at times. To be anyway associated with that movie is an extreme honor evidenced by the fact that Mila Jovovich is still working. The three plaintiffs in the case are perhaps the three most likable characters in the movie, with the exception of Mitch Kramer and other personal favorites. Floyd is the star, the stud high school quarterback who is juggling multiple women and fighting against the system. Wooderson, although meant to be a joke in that he is middle aged and still hangs out, and more disturbingly, hits on high school students, is a cinematic icon thanks to the perfect performance given by Matthew Mcconaughey. It would be an honor to be portrayed in such a way on screen, being built up to mythic status. As for Slater, well sure, maybe you don’t want to be shown as a walking ball of hash, but at least he was the ULTIMATE ball of hash, the archetype for a generation, not that bad if you think about it.

If anyone should be pissed about how they were portrayed and considering legal action it should be Fred O'Bannion, played by Ben Affleck in all his meatheaded glory. In a movie that was mostly good times and big laughs, he is the true villain, being followed up by Nicky Katt’s “Clint”, who almost should be thanked for giving Adam Goldberg’s “Mike” a solid beating to wake him up from his scholastic and emo-esque snooze. Yet, amazingly enough, neither O’Bannion nor Clint has stepped up to sue. Perhaps it is because they don’t care and see the movie as it is, a funny slice of life, and maybe they laugh at how mean they were back in the day, chalking it up to the days of youth and stupidity. Or maybe they don’t even exist - after all, who even knew before a few days ago that Pink, Slater and Wooderson were real people?

Even now that we know that these characters we’ve come to love are based on real people, even using their real names, who cares? For all the talk about misperception and embarrassment that these grown men feel, the bigger problem for them is a lack of thick skin. After all, Pink, Slater and Wooderson were no doubt part of the cool crew back in school, so if now they must face the music and not be viewed as such, well that’s just the way life goes sometimes. The key is, don’t let it bother you, you just gotta keep on livin’. L I V I N.