The “Spiritual Sequel” to Dazed & Confused offers up plenty of funky outfits, music and fun despite a lack of emotional depth
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| “Yeah, boy – let’s rock these horrible 80s pastels & get busy, fellas!” Plummer (Temple Baker), Roper (Ryan Guzman) and Jake (Blake Jenner) get ready to rock the disco in a scene from writer/director Richard Linklater’s “spiritual sequel” to Dazed & Confused, EVERYBODY WANTS SOME. Credit: Van Redin © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved. |
WATCH THE TRAILER(S) HERE:
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, J. Quinton Johnson, Glen Powell, Juston Street, Tanner Kalina, Forrest Vickery and Wyatt Russell
WRITER(S): Richard Linklater
60 SECOND PLOT SUMMARY (OR AS CLOSE TO THAT TIME AS ONE CAN MAKE IT): The “spiritual sequel” to his beloved (by many) 1970s opus Dazed & Confused, Everybody Wants Some begins by introducing us to Jake (Blake Jenner), a 1979 second team high school all-star baseball player preparing to enter his first year in college in his native Texas. Moving into one of the two off-campus houses the baseball team occupies, Jake meets a cast of colorful characters within minutes of each other.
This includes Roper (Ryan Guzman) and Finnegan (Glen Powell), the unofficial leaders and ladies men of the house who are always down for a good time; Reynolds (Tyler Hoechlin), a strong, Mike Schmidt-styled mustachioed power hitter; Jay Niles (Juston Street), a Detroit-born pitcher who tells everyone who will listen that the “raw dog” is a top pro prospect; resident knuckles game champ Nesbit (Austin Amelio), Dale (J. Quinton Johnson), the resident cool black guy/second baseman; heavy sleeper Coma (Forest Vickery), fellow freshman outfielder Brumley (Tanner Kalina); Willoughby (Wyatt Russell), a California transfer who’s got many tricks up his sleeve and Beuter (Will Brittain), Jake’s country roommate who has very strong opinions on following the coach’s rules. And over the course of the next three days, Jake and his newfound cast of merry men will party hard and often now that they are away from home with no direct adult supervisor to lord over them.
And Beverly (Zoey Deutch) is an alluring young woman on her own … But where could she possibly fit into Jake’s newfound world of beer, babes and baseball? The weekend is young – and he’s got plenty of time to figure that out.
This includes Roper (Ryan Guzman) and Finnegan (Glen Powell), the unofficial leaders and ladies men of the house who are always down for a good time; Reynolds (Tyler Hoechlin), a strong, Mike Schmidt-styled mustachioed power hitter; Jay Niles (Juston Street), a Detroit-born pitcher who tells everyone who will listen that the “raw dog” is a top pro prospect; resident knuckles game champ Nesbit (Austin Amelio), Dale (J. Quinton Johnson), the resident cool black guy/second baseman; heavy sleeper Coma (Forest Vickery), fellow freshman outfielder Brumley (Tanner Kalina); Willoughby (Wyatt Russell), a California transfer who’s got many tricks up his sleeve and Beuter (Will Brittain), Jake’s country roommate who has very strong opinions on following the coach’s rules. And over the course of the next three days, Jake and his newfound cast of merry men will party hard and often now that they are away from home with no direct adult supervisor to lord over them.
And Beverly (Zoey Deutch) is an alluring young woman on her own … But where could she possibly fit into Jake’s newfound world of beer, babes and baseball? The weekend is young – and he’s got plenty of time to figure that out.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? People who enjoyed Dazed & Confused; those who enjoyed the 70s portion of Boogie Nights before they hit the 80s second act; children of the late 70s/early 80s; people who like upbeat, coming-of-age stories filled with nostalgia; those who enjoyed 70s-era disco and country music and fashion; anyone in search of a light-hearted romp that is more focused on the fun aspects of youth than truly “growing up”
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN’T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Those looking for a direct Dazed & Confused link in terms of tone or character development; people who find 70s/80s nostalgia a bit over-romanticized; those who wish the film dived into deeper levels of what it meant to grow up during the time period depicted
WHO WON’T (OR SHOULDN’T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Those looking for a direct Dazed & Confused link in terms of tone or character development; people who find 70s/80s nostalgia a bit over-romanticized; those who wish the film dived into deeper levels of what it meant to grow up during the time period depicted
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that is essentially a 2 hour party on film that celebrates all the debauchery, care-free spirit and optimism of being young and male at the onset of the 1980s – as well as how guys become friends – Everybody Wants Some is a fun diversion of a film … Even if it doesn’t say or represent nearly as much as it could.
Whereas Dazed & Confused had a feeling of “this is how many kids in the 1970s felt about growing up and being on the verge of adulthood,” Everybody Wants Some essentially has one vibe: It’s time to party – and party it does. For if there has been a film that has embraced the mantra of letting the proverbial good times role more than Linklater’s 117 minute homage to bad 80s fashion, Smokey and the Bandit-style hair and the national pastime, you’d be hard to find one that has as much fun doing so. Jenner does a strong job presenting Blake as just a guy – not a bad guy, not a good guy but a decent guy – venturing out into the world on his own for the first time.
Much akin to the fashion that Steve Carell’s character was embraced in The 40 Year-Old Virgin by his co-workers, Jake is quickly swept under the tutelage of his newfound chums, each of which adds their own unique element to the mix, save for a few oddballs that add their own sense of humorous lunacy to the proceedings. Whether its Glen Powell channeling his inner Brad Pitt/Matthew McConaughey while spouting off romantic and/or philosophic witticism, Johnson being the cool black guy who isn’t defined by his melanin or dual butts of many jokes Austin Amelio and Juston Street being, well, the butts of many jokes, everything works well together to add to the fun.
This makes Everybody Wants Some much more of an outright comedy than Dazed ever was, but in turn fails to give it as much impact on your conscious. (You won’t leave the theater pondering anything other than how much time did it take to get those clothes and get the actors’ hair to have that perfect fall 1980s look.) While Deutsch adds a nice balance that adds a little depth to both the film and Jake as he discovers meeting someone who at first is your opposite but may be the perfect person for you once you get to know and realize your commonalities, Everybody Wants Some isn’t here to be deep.
It’s here for you to have fun – and if you’re looking for some, this is what you and everybody you’re going to the movies with should want.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Whereas Dazed & Confused had a feeling of “this is how many kids in the 1970s felt about growing up and being on the verge of adulthood,” Everybody Wants Some essentially has one vibe: It’s time to party – and party it does. For if there has been a film that has embraced the mantra of letting the proverbial good times role more than Linklater’s 117 minute homage to bad 80s fashion, Smokey and the Bandit-style hair and the national pastime, you’d be hard to find one that has as much fun doing so. Jenner does a strong job presenting Blake as just a guy – not a bad guy, not a good guy but a decent guy – venturing out into the world on his own for the first time.
Much akin to the fashion that Steve Carell’s character was embraced in The 40 Year-Old Virgin by his co-workers, Jake is quickly swept under the tutelage of his newfound chums, each of which adds their own unique element to the mix, save for a few oddballs that add their own sense of humorous lunacy to the proceedings. Whether its Glen Powell channeling his inner Brad Pitt/Matthew McConaughey while spouting off romantic and/or philosophic witticism, Johnson being the cool black guy who isn’t defined by his melanin or dual butts of many jokes Austin Amelio and Juston Street being, well, the butts of many jokes, everything works well together to add to the fun.
This makes Everybody Wants Some much more of an outright comedy than Dazed ever was, but in turn fails to give it as much impact on your conscious. (You won’t leave the theater pondering anything other than how much time did it take to get those clothes and get the actors’ hair to have that perfect fall 1980s look.) While Deutsch adds a nice balance that adds a little depth to both the film and Jake as he discovers meeting someone who at first is your opposite but may be the perfect person for you once you get to know and realize your commonalities, Everybody Wants Some isn’t here to be deep.
It’s here for you to have fun – and if you’re looking for some, this is what you and everybody you’re going to the movies with should want.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
