1352. Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)

Starring: Blake Jenner, Glen Powell, Tyler Hoechlin

Director: Richard Linklater

Running Time: 117 mins

Everybody Wants Some!! is an American film following a group of friends on the baseball team during the last riotous weekend before a new year of college starts.

Set in the 70s, this film is billed as the ‘spiritual sequel’ to Richard Linklater’s cult classic Dazed And Confused. Not being a fan of that film, I was sceptical going into this, but I’m delighted to say that Everybody Wants Some is a brilliant film from start to finish, featuring great comedy, strong performances, an amazing portrayal of the time period and heartfelt drama and emotion as we follow one young man as he begins his college life.

Let’s start with the most striking thing about this film, and that’s the fact that it just feels so seventies. Dazed And Confused was set at the same time, but I didn’t think it was so clear about its time period, however the way that Everybody Wants Some pulls that off makes it immediately eye-catching, and makes it a very convincing watch.

From the fantastic soundtrack to the moustaches, from the discos to the tight flares, there isn’t a moment here when you don’t know where in time everything is happening. The 70s vibe is fantastically clear, and although it may come across as a little goofy to those of us who were never around at the time, I’m sure it will have a brilliantly nostalgic power for the young men and women of the seventies.

That’s the best thing about this film’s atmosphere, but the one other thing that it does very well, and particularly more so than Dazed And Confused, is bring a real energy and sense of fun to the table. For me, Dazed And Confused was a sluggish and boring watch, given that it focussed so much on the mellow, indie kids at the end of high school, and didn’t really deliver any great joy or fun.

Here, however, it’s a riot throughout. Okay, there may be a couple of those Dazed And Confused-esque mellow moments, but because the film is centred around the laddish relationships of a baseball team, it’s got a lot more energy to it. I’m not saying that that’s my ideal lifestyle (look at me, watching a movie every day), but the film makes sure that you have a really fun time in the company of the main characters for two hours, and if that means hanging out with the debaucherous jocks and cool kids, so be it.

And even beyond the hard-partying, energetic vibe, there’s still more fun to come from this film in the form of its brilliant comedy. It’s no Airplane!, but Everybody Wants Some is full of laughs throughout, with some great banter, comical personalities and more, and that makes it even more enjoyable to watch, something that Dazed And Confused again didn’t do so well for me.

Finally, the reason that this film deserves just that little bit more credit is because it gives you more than the craziness of college life that we’ve already seen in Animal House. Instead, it’s a very heartfelt, positive and nostalgic portrayal of the important time in your life when you’re thrown into a new world and are trying to navigate through whatever’s being thrown at you, and that confirms it as something more than just a comedy.

Overall, Everybody Wants Some is a fantastic film. With brilliantly entertaining college madness weaved into a heartfelt story about growing up, all set amongst the hip 1970s, it’s an absolute joy to watch, and that’s why it gets a 7.9 from me.