Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Everybody Wants Some!! Blu-ray Movie Review

Boys just want to have fun.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 12, 2016

Director Richard Linklater's last film prior to Everybody Wants Some!! was the hugely ambitious and highly successful Boyhood, the critically acclaimed multi-year project that followed a young boy's long journey to physical, mental, and emotional maturity. Everybody Wants Some!! is a total 180. This film is a several-day snapshot following the comings and goings of a handful of Texas college baseball players in the 1980s. It's not especially concerned about how they got there or where they're going, though certainly the film kicks the tires on where they've been and where they hope to go, but that's not the point. Rather than a deeply contemplative piece on life and everything that entails, Linklater's latest is instead a casual tale of the here-and-now experiences of college kids whose biggest cares don't really amount to a hill of beans in the grand scheme of things.

The team.

Jake (Blake Jenner) isn't just the new kid in school, he's the new pitcher on the baseball team, too. He's housed in a home-turned-dorm full of several of his teammates, and school (and baseball, really) is just about the last thing on their minds. Instead of working out, loosening up, and getting ready to hit the books, they're out cruising for ladies, looking for the next high, and anticipating a night of dancing at the local Disco hall. Their coach has only two rules: no booze in the house and no women in the bedrooms. Like that's happening. As the guys settle in and Jake slowly, but surely, becomes part of the crew, he falls for a young coed named Beverly (Zoey Deutch). With so much swirling around him, can Jake keep his priorities straight on the field and off, or will the team's party-hard ways come to define his time at school?

Linklater doesn't really make a bluntly obvious point in Everybody Wants Some!!, at least not until the final shot, which frames the movie in the idea of skewed priorities, or at least priorities as they're so often set by the college crowd. The movie's snapshot approach follows the characters on a several-day journey through girls, dance, and drugs, -- endless fun, really -- with a bit of baseball thrown in for good measure. It's essentially the college experience, minus one piece of the puzzle (the end of the movie), 80s style. There's really not much more to it. Maybe a bit of philosophizing around the bong, exploring team and dorm camaraderie, but the film is largely only concerned with its vision. That's not to say it's not substantive...it's just substantive in its own way and well below the surface. The movie's ideas subtly compliment that larger party atmosphere, and it really is all cemented in that final shot. Exactly what Linklater is saying, or is thinking, with how the film ends isn't clear, but the audience has several avenues of thought opened up as a result. Basically, the movie transforms from themed Party film to contemplative study of life's priorities in an instant.

The movie thrives on its cast camaraderie. Linklater's script does a wonderful job of piecing them all together, with just enough off-screen detail and on-screen action to build them individually and together as a collective group of friends (for the most part). The actors take that script and evolve it on the screen, with a strikingly rich and realistic collection of portraits. Aided by the film's uncanny 80s recreation -- competing with Ping Pong Summer for title of "best 80s retro stylings in a 21st century movie" -- the actors fall completely into character but, at the same time, transcend place and time. Linklater's film is relatable not just for someone who played college baseball and lived in a frat house atmosphere or even grew up in the 80s but who understands life's moments with friends and that fun but challenging time when one is right on the cusp of maturity but still hanging onto that adolescent innocence.

Everybody Wants Some!! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Everybody Wants Some!! features a pleasing, even, and accurate 1080p transfer. Colors are rich and healthy, particularly as seen in the dorm home kitchen where lime green cabinets and accents are commonplace. Era t-shirts are another source of healthy, active colors. Detailing is fine, about average for a new digitally-sourced movie. Basic facial features -- particularly facial hair -- present with plenty of intimate detail. Period clothes reveal every seam and stitch in appropriately up-close shots. One of the joys of Paramount's transfer is the ability to really see, with a high degree of clarity, some of the era-specific props, like old TVs, VCRs, VHS tapes, records, phonographs, and receivers. Additionally, worn down wallpaper, wooden accents, chipped paint, and other lived-in details around the house are revealed with excellent clarity. Black levels are naturally deep and flesh tones appear normal. Light, scattered noise is visible but never a distraction. This is a strong all-around presentation from Paramount.

Everybody Wants Some!! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Everybody Wants Some!! features a straightforward DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Most everything is front-dominant, including music. Clarity and detail are fine, and the track only opens up when the action shifts to the Disco hall or a couple of other places where music becomes the dominant force and more immersive in a larger environment. A few little sound effects out on the baseball field, at parties, and in other scenes play with a suitable level of definition. Dialogue delivery is fine. It's well prioritized and firmly positioned in the front-center area of the soundstage.

Everybody Wants Some!! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Everybody Wants Some!! contains a lengthy gag/ad-lib reel and a few featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Everybody Wants Some!! More Stuff That's Not in the Movie (1080p, 25:24): A large collection of outtakes and raw footage from the set.
• Rickipedia (1080p, 3:57): Writer/Director Richard Linklater really knows his stuff.
• Baseball Players Can Dance (1080p, 6:42): The cast works hard to physically prepare for the movie, on the field and in the dance studio.
• Skills Videos (1080p, 5:17): The cast makes a video showcasing their (sometimes goofier) talents on the baseball field.
• History 101: Stylin' the 80s (1080p, 4:20): A quick run through the process of recreating the 80s look.

Everybody Wants Some!! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Everybody Wants Some!! has a lot to say, but it doesn't make saying it a priority. Quite unlike Boyhood but oddly complimentary of it in an "opposites attract" sort of way, Linklater's latest lacks magic but it's a fun, well scripted, superbly performed, and outright enjoyable movie. Paramount's Blu-ray offers solid video, good audio, and a fair collection of extra content. Recommended.