Movie Breakdown: Everybody Wants Some

Pre-Screening Stance:

The poster says RICHARD LINKLATER, so of course I’m interested.  The guy is one of the best writer/directors on the planet, and I’ve only ever not liked one of his movies (Fast Food Nation – it just didn’t work for me).  Anyhow, Everybody Wants Some is also the “spiritual” successor to Dazed and Confused, so that’s cool, too.

Post-Screening Ramble:

Somewhere around the midpoint of Everybody Wants Some I realized that I just wasn’t into it at all.  In fact, I was sort of exhausted from trying to like the film.  As a big fan of Richard Linklater, I definitely wanted (and expected) to dig it, but the reality is that I just didn’t.  The film, which follows a crew of college baseball players as they tool around before a new semester starts, meanders aimlessly its entire runtime, and where I think I was supposed to feel nostalgic about what was transpiring on the screen in front of me, I instead found myself annoyed with how the film frequently uses a “hey, remember this” tactic in place of a good story.  Yes, I remember that college was a wacky time where it was important to work and play hard, but surely there’s a better way of revisiting that than by showing me a bunch of instantly forgettable goofballs.  I seriously don’t remember any of the characters in the film, and I can’t recall what any of them were wanting or trying to do.

Everybody Wants Some wasn’t for me, but the large amount of nostalgia it slings around could be something that actually connects with you.  See it at your own risk.

One Last Thought:

I feel like Everybody Wants Some would have been better had it just been about college baseball.  Then it would have had some focus.  Plus, I just always enjoy quality films about America’s favorite pastime.