1993’s Dazed and Confused was my favourite Richard Linklater film until he released his masterpiece, Boyhood. 23 years later, a spiritual sequel, Everybody Wants Some!!, hits our screens. In Dazed & Confused we saw the antics of a bunch of high schoolers and various hangers-on in Texas over the course of one night in 1976. The new film follows a group of college baseball players in the same state during the few days leading up to the start of term in 1980.
Whilst none of the characters are the same, the films shares the same sense of anticipation and the same loose format. Rather than a compelling over arching plot-line, there a series of scenes capturing the mood of the times and place that the young characters are at. Particularly memorable in this instance are the scenes of some of the guys getting stoned whilst listening to Fearless by Pink Floyd and the first baseball practice.
The main focus is on freshman Jake (Blake Jenner) and his attempts to fit-in with his new team mates whilst also pursuing a girl Beverly (Zoe Deutch). He is likeable though a little bland, so I enjoyed some of his new friends more, particularly the complex Finnegan – a great performance by Glen Powell and the amiable Plummer (Temple Baker). What Linklater does really well is capture the usual scenes of college drinking and partying to excess whilst not making the characters grotesque. I found I was much more invested in the people on-screen than in, for example, National Lampoon’s Animal House.
One of the high points of Dazed & Confused was the brilliant soundtrack that really resonated with me. I didn’t feel quite the same here, as the disco and country music that dominates the early part of the film was not what I was listening to the early 80’s. However, it seems appropriate for the time and place as depicted in the film so that it just a personal quibble.
This is a film to relax into, and enjoy the rhythm of it.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10