Glory Daze

Jack Freeman graduates with a degree in art, but his heart is still hurting from his breakup with Dina. He shares the house El Rancho with four friends who are also facing the end of college and the start of new lives. The day centers on the tension between leaving school and holding onto memories.

Art professor Luther harshly criticizes Jack's final sculpture for projecting a bland, suburban worldview. He praises Dennis's thesis—a photo-essay of Slosh getting drunk and working dead-end jobs—and offers Dennis an apprenticeship. Jack mutters that Luther's praise is due to a sexual attraction toward Dennis, a claim Dennis dismisses.

Jack convinces his friends to postpone their plans and stay another year, clinging to college memories. They celebrate with a party at El Rancho. Chelsea makes a sexual advance toward Jack, which he rejects, leaving her embarrassed; Rob has an argument with Joanie during the gathering.

After the commencement ceremony the next day, Rob reconciles with Joanie and meets her mother, and they begin to get along well. The uneasy tensions from the night before seem to ease as family and couple dynamics shift.

Jack has a heated discussion with his parents about his future, feeling pressured to choose a clear path. The disagreement ends abruptly when his parents leave the scene, signaling a rift between generations and expectations.

At a faculty luncheon, Luther makes a pass at Dennis, confirming Jack's suspicion about Luther's ulterior motives. Dennis dismisses the notion and remains focused on his own ambitions.

Jack and Dennis vent their frustrations by cutting down a totem pole that Luther's sculpture students spent two semesters building. The act serves as a cathartic confrontation against Luther's authority.

At a beach bonfire that night, Slosh tells Jack that his carefree attitude inspired him to give up on college, and that he has no regrets about his future. Following this, Jack attempts to win back Dina, but she rebuffs him.

Back at El Rancho, Mickey admits his feelings to Chelsea. The two share a kiss, marking a breakthrough in their friendship.

The friends realize they should not stay another year and choose to move on with their adult lives. They symbolically destroy their memories by smashing their furniture, including the bar counter they built together.

The group begins to part ways: Rob leaves for Los Angeles with Joanie, Dennis heads to Michigan for an MBA, and Mickey and Chelsea start dating. Slosh moves in with a new group of students and hangs the El Rancho sign on their house.

As Jack leaves town, he stops at a restaurant where Dina is eating with her new boyfriend and writes 'angst for the memories' on the window as a farewell message.