Everybody Wants Some!! ** (out of 5) (R) If you were a college athlete in the 1980s, or wish you had been, here’s a look at how your weekend before the start of classes may have gone. In this case, it’s baseball players at a Texas school that valued them well above their relatively inept hoops and gridiron counterparts. That means special housing, with all the booze, babes and other indulgences they can handle while still making it to practice. It’s a slice of a privileged life few of us could relate to, in a time of relative innocence. Golden boys will be boys.
Writer/director Richard Linklater covers the era with an attractive cast of players and co-eds, anchored by freshman pitcher Jake (Blake Jenner) as our protagonist. He’s a nice fellow, as are most of his teammates. One glaring exception is the angry slugger whose mood swings must be due to the yet-to-be-discovered downside of using steroids, or testing for other controlled substances. Among the rest of the team, serious b’ball fans will have no trouble figuring out which one is the lefty reliever. Perfect casting for the type.
The script is generally amusing, with enough eye candy to please or titillate most viewers. The guys party and bar-hop for a few days, bonding with each other and taking control of campus social life with ease. The film is more about the feel of the era for high-school superstars with Major League dreams, choosing a school that gives them the best shot at honing their tools and catching the eye of pro scouts, than any particular story arcs, character development or moral judgments. It’s a view of how sweet it was for those who had the valued gifts in a time that allowed for basking without censure. (4/8/16)