Review of Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) by Cathy H — 24 Apr 2016

This movie is billed in some places as a follow up of sorts to director Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, which I have not seen. I am, however, a huge fan of Linklater's work in School of Rock and Boyhood, so I had been eager to see Everybody Wants Some since I saw the trailer some months back.

I cannot imagine this movie failing to be of interest to anyone who was in college or even high school in the 1980s. It's a ride in a time machine. The clothes and hair are perfect. The music selected is representative without having much of the annoying stuff that was also out at the time. The attention to detail is amazing and even something about the lighting and camera work evokes the era. Close-ups of the beautiful young actors are lovely, but this is no hi-definition looking or special effects experience. The whole thing feels like 1980.

As for plot: I have to say that there is little to none, and I don't in any way mean this as a criticism. This movie turns out to be a chance to be a fly on the wall with some people you might have been, wished you were or regretted being back then. The actors, none of whom are names I recognized, do a great job with dialogue that is both realistic and tricky to pull off well. This is a talky movie and you will want to listen carefully. Luckily, these actors make it easy and fun to pay attention to their antics, chatter and ponderings.

The trailer makes this movie look a lot zanier than it feels in full length. Zany certainly takes its rightful place, but it's not all that happens. It's for all the non-zany aspects that I heartily recommend this movie. You don't have to be very much older than the characters to relate to-and probably long for-- the specific way time is different before you have real responsibilities in life. None of us recognize that phase of our lives until it's past, but here's a chance to hold it in your hand briefly. Linklater is a master at pacing a story and although this is completely different from Boyhood in so many ways, he gets it just right again in Everybody Wants Some. You won't regret hanging out with these guys for two hours even if you wouldn't have given them two minutes back in the day.

The actors from this movie are sure to turn up in other roles, or at least I hope they do. None of them looks in real life as they do in this movie, which makes them all the more remarkable to me. I look forward to seeing them morph into other characters in other settings and regret only that they won't be in this ensemble again because they made it look so fun.

If you go, and I hope you will, make a point of staying through all the credits. I promise it will be worth the wait. Young people, if any are reading this: go! If nothing else, you might better understand your parents and see that some things about being 17-22 haven't changed all that much over three decades. Everyone should want some of this movie.