Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

Details: By Loron Hays; 20 July 2016

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Everybody Wants Some - Blu-ray Review

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Watching Everybody Wants Some!! is like putting on a pair of your favorite shoes. Everything fits. Every inch is perfect; every stitch broke in. And, damn it, these Chuck Taylors keep you moving AND grooving. Written and directed by Richard Linklater, his spin on the fall of 1980 is as authentic as it gets. I was merely a young boy in 1980 but, let me tell you, the young adults that populate the movie were my neighbors, my friend’s brothers and sisters, and Linklater nailed the people I once looked up to.

By now, I would think that everybody is familiar with how Linklater’s films work. His solid body of work seems critic-proof. You either get it or you don’t. He builds characters that live in the world you and I are familiar with. They are not exaggerations (perhaps School of Rock is the exception to that rule) nor are they caricatures. In this manner, his movies seem able to rise above the standard offerings and, at a time when Hollywood is lacking direction, they offer a refreshing relief for quite a bit of people.

Essentially, there is no real structure as the characters drive the plot in Linklater's movie. They are simply living and experiencing the same things you and I do. Take an early scene in Everybody Wants Some!! as an example, the roommates, old and new, are cruising for chicks around campus and immediately break out in a radio karaoke routine to The Sugarhill Gang’s "Rapper’s Delight" as they roll on down the road. White, black, clean-shaven and not, the five guys lip-synching to the song can’t help but get us to smile and nod along. We’ve done it, too.

For some moviegoers, scenes like this one are a huge turn-off. Others enjoy it. Through the years, he has perfected his craft of replicating the normality of everyday and argued that his characters are the only structure his movies need. Everybody Wants Some!! is the shining proof of his theory. It immediately invites you to enjoy a world without cell phones and Facebook and, trust me, we are hungry for that forgotten world of simplicity.

The film articulates the attitudes of 1980 to perfection. Linklater’s movie, a sort-of spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused, starts the weekend before college classes are to start. It’s fall and the summer hangover is kicking about in the air. The fictional Southeast Texas Cherokees baseball team, all sharing a house for the year, are assembling for a new year. Old and new teammates are arriving and Jake (Blake Jenner), a high school ace pitcher, is right there with them. This is his coming-of-age story as he experiences the weekend before class starts getting to know the lay of the land, if you will. His freshman year of college. An important first step in becoming a man…

…and along the way he has to navigate the reckless and hilarious attitudes and adventures of the rest of his team. There’s his roommate Beuter (Will Brittain), Finnegan (Glen Powell), Roper (Ryan Guzman), Dale (Quinton Johnson), Plummer (Temple Baker), Brumley (Tanner Kalina), Jay (Juston Street), and Willoughby (Wyatt Russell). They are all there to form a winning team but, in the weekend of the film, they are there to get laid, get loose, and get to know each other. They journey from one club to the next in pursuit of tail. And they charm us along the way.

Co-starring Zoey Deutch as the girl who catches Jake’s eye, Everybody Wants Some!! is as pitch-perfect in its delivery as it is funny in its wind-up. It is an engaging trip through the past as the teammates establish their identities in the college house and on the campus. From reflections on Pink Floyd to general pranks, the team feels a winning season is in the air. While some of them know each other from previous years, the freshmen are our bait. They hook us and they do it in an effortless manner that suggests strong direction at every turn.

Linklater’s uncanny ability to not sensationalize the style of this nostalgic trek back to another time period is to be praised. This is a borderline documentary and he, together with his cast, have created a film that is, at once, unique and rare. From the Texas locations to the clothing, it is a quiet film that works on many levels to create something more than just a breezy remembrance of days gone by. The good times never get old. Never.

Everybody Want Some!! will leave you coming back for more.

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MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, sexual content, drug use and some nudity
Runtime: 117 mins
Director: Richard Linklater
Writer: Richard Linklater
Cast: Blake Jenner, Tyler Hoechlin, Ryan Guzman
Genre: Drama | Sport | Comedy
Tagline: From Writer/Director Richard Linklater Comes The Spiritual Sequel To Dazed and Confused
Memorable Movie Quote: "We came for a good time, not for a long time."
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Official Site: http://www.everybodywantssomemovie.com/
Release Date: March 30, 2016
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: July 12, 2016
Synopsis: Set in the world of 1980s college life, Everybody Wants Some follows a group of college baseball players as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Get ready for the best weekend ever.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Everybody Wants Some - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - July 12, 2016
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French: Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD-50, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; iTunes digital copy; Digital copy; DVD copy
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

The 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is loaded with crackling detail and vibrant colors. Paramount serves up a good release as the color levels are good throughout and the skin tones are succulent and warm. Details are sharp and the field of depth is used well. The cinematography is beautifully presented in all its virginal charm. Sometimes the black levels overpower and shadows are lost – especially in the night scenes. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that lovingly handles the era music is ripe with thundering bass and good dialogue levels throughout.

Supplements:

Commentary:

None

Special Features:

With a collection of outtakes re-edited to roll out as one featurette, Everybody Wants Some!! indeed gives us more. There’s also a look at Linklater’s knowledge of the year 1980 and how many times the cast had to rely on him with their characters. Another featurette shows the cast learning to play ball and to dance. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included.