I am a big fan of nostalgia, Linklater, coming of age films, and the 80's. So of course I liked the movie. But when it ended, I was left with a feeling of "so, what was the point of that?" It was fun, but the movie won't really stay with you longer than a few days.
Special mention of the guys driving in the car cruisin' for chicks. Great performance of "Rappers Delight".
Special mention of the guys driving in the car cruisin' for chicks. Great performance of "Rappers Delight".
3
This film has garnered a large number of complimentary reviews, but I just don't get it. For me, the emperor here (the idea that this film is good) has no clothes. I simply could not connect with this film, partly because it had no plot but also because just watching people have fun is not necessarily fun.
I actually thought it was the worst film I've seen in some time. Hopefully I'm not being a moralist about the characters' behavior, this was my generation and the film accurately portrays that mindset.
I believe we deserve better as movie goers, but - what the heck- if you like it, you got your money's worth. I didn't.
I actually thought it was the worst film I've seen in some time. Hopefully I'm not being a moralist about the characters' behavior, this was my generation and the film accurately portrays that mindset.
I believe we deserve better as movie goers, but - what the heck- if you like it, you got your money's worth. I didn't.
5
Watching this film, I found myself wishing that the casting had been more interesting. Some of these actors just aren't good, and it's harder to get excited about generic looking baseball players getting laid than it was to root for wimpy looking Mitch Kramer. But somehow Richard Linklater movies always make me feel excited to be alive. This isn't among his best, but I left the theater feeling present.
2
(Spoiler alert.) I admit that I got a kick out of Finn's pontificating. ("No, I don't think too much. I just talk a lot.") But otherwise I could not manage to suspend my disbelief willingly. With maybe two exceptions, everybody looked way too old for college-age and that was too distracting. (It also made the -- spoiler alert -- ejection of one of the characters from the baseball team and the university because he's 30 masquerading as 21 not the surprise it was supposedly meant to be, but it may be an inadvertent internal critique of the movie.) I also thought everybody looked way too old for high school in "Dazed and Confused." Nothing against the actors as actors -- they were all good. But there are good actors who also really do look younger than their ages. And when the age of the characters is integral to the story (no matter how loose or non-existent the plot) and the actors playing those characters look nowhere near the ages they are portraying, then that's what gets noticed and the flick gets undermined.
3
A bunch of hot dudes running around in Daisy Dukes, where can I get a ticket?
R-E-L-A-X people and don't get your knickers all in a twist. A movie doesn't have to be oscar worthy to be entertaining.
R-E-L-A-X people and don't get your knickers all in a twist. A movie doesn't have to be oscar worthy to be entertaining.
3
This movie... was basically not a movie. There was no plot, no conflict, no story, no anything. There wasn't even a beginning middle and end. It was just a bunch of 35 year old looking men pretending to be college students hanging out. What story was Linklater trying to tell here? "3 days before I started college, this happened?" Even if it was just a peek into a character's narrative, without bothering to concoct a plot, at the very least, please make that character interesting. This collection of lines (I just can't call this a movie) only got as far as having some amazing side gags and cartoon characters (aka Detroit guy). I regret that this was my introduction to Linklater's work, because I'll never get these 2 hours back and strongly doubt I'll subject myself to any more of his work. P. U.
6
I usually like Mr. Linklater as a filmmaker, but I agree that this film was a bit of a bore. Ten minutes into it I noted that most of the main characters looked MUCH older than college undergraduates - the supposed freshmen looked ten years older than most college freshmen. Linklater is usually better than this.
1
A real dud.
As someone who was a college freshman in 1980 I appreciated how the clothes, music and hair styles were vividly re-created. However, once past that appreciation that this movie was interminable! 'Boyhood' was long but it worked because it had character’s that were recognizable as actual human beings. Linklater seemed unsure on whether he wanted to make an homage to Animal House or a semi-serious look at college life. I heard a couple of chuckles from the audience but that was about it. Skip this one. Like another reviewer said if you want to see a movie about slacker's watch 'Dazed and Confused'.
3
@Mark or watch Slacker
Nothing about this movie was funny. I have no idea why the reviews are good? Animal House was goofy but funny and still holds up after all these years. This movie never got off the first floor and it just kept on getting worse. and The audience lack of laughter and the negative reviews I've read from comments left tell me that somebody was paid off in one way or another.
4
Just saw it with my girlfriend: Save your money. It's a bomb. We watched for an hour, waiting in vain for a single moment that was either funny or sweet or compelling, or any entertaining scene whatsoever that could justify the price of admission - and finally walked out. I have no idea why A.O. Scott would give this film even a halfway decent review. Its essentially exactly like Dazed and Confused, set to the pop hits of the disco era, lacking a single line of dialogue you will remember and without a single character that you might care about. It's a hack job. Truly a bummer because Linklater can be great.
4
As follow up to his remarkable “Boyhood,” Linklater utilizes more of a genre approach in his new film, taking as his model the movies of Howard Hawks (one of the more notable directors of the Hollywood studio era). Hawks specialized in stories (both dramas and comedies) about groups of men who come together to work at their profession, usually a challenging one. They share camaraderie while doing it, or getting ready to—whether that be as airmail pilots, sheriffs of the west, big game hunters, or sports car racers. Pranks abound, falling in love with serious women always happens, yet the men in Hawks’ films have a job to do which they strive to perform as earnestly as possible.
Of course, this model is here adapted to meld with Linklater’s personal themes, such as how coming to college introduces his heroes to a brave new world of variety and sophistication. As with the Hawks movies, there is a looseness to the structure, which serves as a scaffolding for scenes that feel written on the fly, even improvised. This gives “Everybody Wants Some,” just like Hawks’ “Only Angels Have Wings,” some slack that the film might have been better off without. Yet, as with Hawks, Linklater’s casting reflects a serious approach to the job at hand, which here is playing college baseball. Despite all the hijinks, his squad is determined to be the best team they can, even as they party hardy off the field while getting ready to do it.
Of course, this model is here adapted to meld with Linklater’s personal themes, such as how coming to college introduces his heroes to a brave new world of variety and sophistication. As with the Hawks movies, there is a looseness to the structure, which serves as a scaffolding for scenes that feel written on the fly, even improvised. This gives “Everybody Wants Some,” just like Hawks’ “Only Angels Have Wings,” some slack that the film might have been better off without. Yet, as with Hawks, Linklater’s casting reflects a serious approach to the job at hand, which here is playing college baseball. Despite all the hijinks, his squad is determined to be the best team they can, even as they party hardy off the field while getting ready to do it.
Undertow of profundity?!! Give me a break! A movie doesn't need an undertow of profundity to be good, but this film was neither. (This from big fan of Linklater and even Dazed and Confused.) He's coasting here and it's just not worth the price of admission. No spark! It could've used actors with more charisma, like McConaughy or Jack Black; these guys were an endless rondelay of bland and/or two dimensional. Even broad comedy needs to resemble life at least a little bit - at least enough for a spark. And yes, it did feel very sexist to me, and not just because the characters were. The writer/director's POV smacked of it as well, to my surprise.
1
Given the impossibly highbrow conversational humor (very funny at times) I'd say this is a movie for adult males who can remember a time when movies made specifically for our puerile, adolescent, oversexed enjoyment seemed to be in endless supply. Judged in this way, it's a triumph. I loved it.
But one thing that bothered me was how the male cast was clearly not made up of college age actors. A quick look at IMDB bios confirmed this suspicion. They were all at least five or six years older than the characters they were playing. The difference between 20 years and 27 years is a significant spread experientially. And few more clicks uncovered something more problematic, that the female actors with bios (only one had a name, the rest were "Sorority girl #1", etc.) were cast age appropriate. It's like Linklater is still playing out the infamous Wooderson fantasy from Dazed and Confused: "I get older, they stay the same age."
I imagine it's hard to find 18-21 year-old male actors who can exude the necessary sexual confidence and predatory demeanor this movie required. Or perhaps Linklater simply believes his audience prefers watching older, experienced men pursue younger women. Perhaps this is more gratifying than the clumsier alternative. Everybody wants some, indeed. And in this case what we get is another version of the same creepy gender disparity we know to expect from Hollywood moviemaking.
But one thing that bothered me was how the male cast was clearly not made up of college age actors. A quick look at IMDB bios confirmed this suspicion. They were all at least five or six years older than the characters they were playing. The difference between 20 years and 27 years is a significant spread experientially. And few more clicks uncovered something more problematic, that the female actors with bios (only one had a name, the rest were "Sorority girl #1", etc.) were cast age appropriate. It's like Linklater is still playing out the infamous Wooderson fantasy from Dazed and Confused: "I get older, they stay the same age."
I imagine it's hard to find 18-21 year-old male actors who can exude the necessary sexual confidence and predatory demeanor this movie required. Or perhaps Linklater simply believes his audience prefers watching older, experienced men pursue younger women. Perhaps this is more gratifying than the clumsier alternative. Everybody wants some, indeed. And in this case what we get is another version of the same creepy gender disparity we know to expect from Hollywood moviemaking.
10
The acting without exception was unbearably self-conscious, or was every second of this meant to be just "preening"? None of this even remotely approached experience. All of it seemed lamely imagined.
2
Good movie. Funny and touching about guys in the void between leaving something behind and starting something new and more serious. Kind of like Diner. In the interplay between Jake and the (very well played) young woman we can also see the young Linklatter leaving baseball behind and being tugged in a different direction towards art. ( The screwball Califirnia left hander deserves a special shout out)
3
The young woman's name is Beverly. She's the only female character with a name.
1
I loved Dazed and Confused. I think Linklater is one of the few genuinely creative guys left in American movies today.
In this movie much of the time I felt as if I was trapped in a Dazed and Confused where every character was either the one played by Matthew McConaughey (Wooderson) or the brutish football jock character (Dawson). The humanity and generous spirit of Dazed and Confused, in which I felt every character was fully rounded, is missing here. Especially as far as the female characters are concerned -- none of them come alive (and only one has any significant screen time).
I couldn't wait for it to be over. Depressing.
In this movie much of the time I felt as if I was trapped in a Dazed and Confused where every character was either the one played by Matthew McConaughey (Wooderson) or the brutish football jock character (Dawson). The humanity and generous spirit of Dazed and Confused, in which I felt every character was fully rounded, is missing here. Especially as far as the female characters are concerned -- none of them come alive (and only one has any significant screen time).
I couldn't wait for it to be over. Depressing.
2
We couldn't watch it.
"The pranks had a cruel edge.." Well, that's one way to describe them - for me, 'bullying' is the better word, Mr Scott.
I like a lot of Mr Linklater's films, especially the 'Before...' trilogy, but 'Dazed' a '"masterpiece"? Let's not get carried away here.
p.
"The pranks had a cruel edge.." Well, that's one way to describe them - for me, 'bullying' is the better word, Mr Scott.
I like a lot of Mr Linklater's films, especially the 'Before...' trilogy, but 'Dazed' a '"masterpiece"? Let's not get carried away here.
p.
1
Is it just me or do most of the actors playing "college students" look like they"re approaching the age of 30?
11
Given what we now know about the toxic mix of white heterosexual masculinity that flourishes in "Guyland" - as sociologist Michael Kimmel calls the world the characters of this film inhabit - I am much less inclined to be as charmed by this film as the reviewer seems to be.
4
Why aren't we ever allowed to enjoy a stupid comedy without attaching all sorts of social relevance to it? I lived through the 80s and just like every minute of every day, somebody is being oppressed, somebody is being discriminated against and somebody somewhere is being wronged, sometimes in spectacular ways. We all know that and if we want to escape for 2 hours, why do we have to feel guilty about it? If you aren't into frat comedies set in the 1980s with drunk athletes, don't go see the movie. And, don't judge us who want to go and laugh a little.
11
Wouldnt' think of judging you. But for those of us who went to see a good Richard Linklater movie, it was quite a disappointment.
2
Dullsville, man! Neither I nor anyone else in the audience could summon even a chuckle at this lame comedy. And this from the creator of Boyhood, a real masterpiece. The characters exhibit all the jock cliches that are the substance of so many movies targeted at those in their late teens/early twenties. Except for Jake, I doubt any of these idiots will graduate. The movie ends with a party given by the art/drama/dance majors which is pretentious and embarrassing, though I suspect that Linklater was not being ironic---hard to tell. Bottom line: a comedy must be funny!
3
I'm white and male. Only half-straight, but whatevs. I get that this film reflects only some people's experiences and that the film industry is actually really bad at reflecting the experiences of non-straight white men. But frankly most of what they produce doesn't do that either, because even if the protagonists are all straight white dudes it is escapist nonsense unconnected to real life. The pleasure of Linklater's better films lies in their ability to so uncannily capture what some people's lives really were like in a certain time and place. This is what he shares with Alison Bechdel and Zora Neal Hurston and what makes him, like them, a great artist whose work can speak even to people whose lives are or were very different. Such talents are rare and to be cherished.
10
I attended UCLA in the eighties and I found it impossible TO have a good time with the shallow, self-absorded jocs you describe here. "No political correctness"? Is that some sort of dig at the earlier Times article describing the millions being spent on eliminating sexual harassment today? Is that really how you feel about the "republic of horniness" that seems to be victimizing women in today's universities? You don't see the irony that perhaps media plays some part in it?
7
The movie didn't just depict sexism, it seemed to embody it. Girls can't wait to give everybody some (their desires not explored other than generically: let's party!) and then when we get to know one of them a little, she's far from interesting. (Neither are the guys but at least they're colorful.) There didn't seem to be any perspective between the main characters' immature attitudes and the writer/director', which surprises me coming from the director of "Boyhood" among others (though come to think of it, the wonderful Julie Delpy character of the Before movies did end up seeming unnecessarily shrewish at the end of the last (Before Midnight). Should we read anything into that?
Do any of the characters have Texas accents in this one? I think only Matthew McConaughey bothered with one in Dazed and Confused. Also, thank you for noting that Everybody Wants Some is set in 1980. That is much more accurate than what everyone else is saying -- that it is Dazed and Confused set in the 1980s. 1980 was not part of the 1980s. The 1980s didn't begin until at least 1981, probably more like 1983.
5
I was in my freshman year in high school in 1980. But without the hyper culture-drive of the Internet, the late 70's and early 80's all kind of blend together.
When people ask what my life was like in high school I point them to Dazed and Confused. I'm sure I'll feel right at home for this flick too.
When people ask what my life was like in high school I point them to Dazed and Confused. I'm sure I'll feel right at home for this flick too.
7
Speaking of college and film, there was a company called Nibblebox that printed out a series of postcards called Rules for Television and there was one that had a Black couple at a prom that sported afros and wore clothes from the 1970s while everyone else (who was White) wore contemporary formal attire. It said: "There is always exactly one Black couple at every high school prom" (or something like that). I guess in this case, there is exactly one Black dude in every college male experience movie.
Seriously though, does anyone know where I can find those postcards? They were really funny!
Seriously though, does anyone know where I can find those postcards? They were really funny!
1
That was just one of several phony bits in the movie.
1
Thanks for posting the trailer ... I feel as though I've seen the movie.
4
Uh, has anyone noticed the other article in today's paper, alongside this movie review, about "Colleges spend millions..." dealing with sex harrassment issues? Welcome to 2016. I don't want to go back to the times that brought about what we are seeing and experiencing today.
6
I like Dazed and Confused, etc., and I read this review, but I must say that if the trailer is any indication, this looks like a pretty bad movie.
7
Very bad.
2
Newsflash to the armchair critics: if a film does not fully conform to your own personal experience on the basis of your gender, race, sexuality, etc. that does not automatically make it a "bad" film. Linklater is not a sociologist. Let the individual artist pursue her or his own vision. If you are unsatisfied, see other films, or, better, make your own!
51
It doesn't even make it bad sociology. Linklater is a keen observer of social dynamics. The fact that his films don't capture everything does not distinguish them from the best sociology which doesn't either.
3
This film didn't just observe. It gave every indication of endorsing.
Sorry you don't want to hear other people's opinions. (Then why read comments?) And I WILL see other films, but people shouldn't have to make their own to be able to comment/warn people about what they're shelling out big bucks for.
1
Total feminist here, but this movie is set in the 80's and being centered on a group of mostly white guys is entirely, historically, accurate. The fact that it's focused on white guys, that is. Welcome to the 80's. BUT that's when I went to college. I loved Dazed and Confused. I can't wait to see this one.
16
Me too. I think the SJWs need to cool their ardor. They are turning political correctness (a very important issue) into parody.
9
Feminist here.
What in the world is the first half of your comment a response to
What in the world is the first half of your comment a response to
4
Set in 1980, not the 1980s. HUGE difference.
1
The picture looks like a scene from any L.A. bar, men outnumbering women 5-0
(Got the genders reversed in a previous comment, ooops)
(Got the genders reversed in a previous comment, ooops)
3
Great. All of the fun I never had. Whatever.
3
Yet another movie all about guys and their sexually entitled adventures. Really? Is anyone really still interested in this stuff? Is there anything new to say about guys pursuing sex and trying to get over on girls? So boring.
7
Great--more room for me in the theater.
11
Oh my God!!! A movie about a bunch of straight white guys, call out the PC Police. The title obviously comes from the Van Halen song of the same name released the same year the movie takes place.
I started college at the same time as these guys (Sept. 1980)
But went to the conservative NY Tech in Old Westbury where I was the only guy there with hair that covered his ears. (the short boy haircut was rare back then but not at my school) It was also a commuter school so meeting gilrs was out of the question except at classes. I should have done better in High School!
I started college at the same time as these guys (Sept. 1980)
But went to the conservative NY Tech in Old Westbury where I was the only guy there with hair that covered his ears. (the short boy haircut was rare back then but not at my school) It was also a commuter school so meeting gilrs was out of the question except at classes. I should have done better in High School!
6
Wow... a lot of bitterness and projecting in these comments. It's a movie folks, you know, entertainment. Believe it or not, everything doesn't have to address everyone's particular issue.
30
I think your criticism would have better been expressed as, "Read the review before commenting."
1
A lot would've have been forgiven if the movie actually WAS entertaining. D&C was! This was comparatively hack work from Linklater.
2
Sounds like the reason we get guys like Bush & Cruz & Trump & Hillary.
5
Except for people who became doctors, lawyers, scientists, etc. college was a lot like that for me and others in the seventies and drifting into the eighties. There was a burgeoning student population at state colleges then due to the baby boom and Vietnam War and most of these schools were ill-equipped to provide a rich academic (or even vocational) environment. The school I attended had a student population of which 80% were headed to the front of a classroom once they graduated. Oh my gosh, talk about ill-prepared and ill-informed....
8
I graduated from college at exactly this time. The review perfectly describes my college experience. The movie is important in that it documents life before campus shootings, when Nancy Reagan's War on Drugs was just starting, my personal concern that overshadowed life was nuclear war. Looking back it seems like a simpler time. Behind the facade was anxiety. But the overall attitude at the time was 'Why ruin the fun. What happens will happen.' Another aspect of life back then was Be A Gentleman, a principle that should prevented a lot of problems faced by students today.
27
Man, good times. Where did they go?
Actually, the real rhetorical, lamenting query is: why did all you guys give birth to what we have now? (I mean literally; I chose not to breed; it's all *your* fault, see?)
Soundtrack sounds pretty nice. Can only hope the punk concert is Black Flag flavored.
Actually, the real rhetorical, lamenting query is: why did all you guys give birth to what we have now? (I mean literally; I chose not to breed; it's all *your* fault, see?)
Soundtrack sounds pretty nice. Can only hope the punk concert is Black Flag flavored.
5
Once the author said "Dazed and Confused" was a "masterpiece" I couldn't take anything else he said seriously.
28
Sorry my friend, if you don't see the creative genius in Dazed & Confused then you have my sympathies.
6
No thanks. Dazed & Confused is the most boring movie ever--and I grew up in same Houston area and graduated from UT Austin at the same time Linklater did.
(And Boyhood was about as riveting as watching paint dry. It was sexist, too.)
(And Boyhood was about as riveting as watching paint dry. It was sexist, too.)
15
Not saying Boyhood wasn't sexist, I was just wondering what you noticed.
2
Huh. What? If he had called it "Childhood" would you have been happy?
Linklater was robbed big time when he did not receive the Academy Award for "Boyhood."
Who can blame him for following up with something rather unambitious? Of course, there were those who thought "Dazed and Confused" was unambitious and meandering, as well.....
Who can blame him for following up with something rather unambitious? Of course, there were those who thought "Dazed and Confused" was unambitious and meandering, as well.....
7
It was even boring reading about it.
42
I'm highly disappointed that the film seems to have almost an all male cast, and is centered on the lives of men. Mr. Linklater obviously doesn't care about the Bechdel test or the gross disparity of the male to female ratio in film. There is a snowballs chance in hell I'll be going to this movie, despite being in Austin.
10
Thought you had a brilliant post as I assumed you were making fun of some of the extreme trends in society today until I read the last sentence which seemed serious. Please advise.
14
Make your own film about women.
9
Is this comment for real? Not every movie has to have perfect parity to be a good movie. There are plenty of great movies about just women...should we put guys in them?
10
I had an opportunity to intern on one of Linklater's films (one of his least memorable ones) when I was a student back in the 90's. Though I didn't interact with him much, the atmosphere felt very much like one of his films: loose and laid-back; not an ounce of self-importance despite the fact that there was substance in the work.
He is one of the unique American directors - the rare mainstream filmmaker whose work is always imbued with humanism. And fun. I always look forward to his films.
He is one of the unique American directors - the rare mainstream filmmaker whose work is always imbued with humanism. And fun. I always look forward to his films.
41
Can you say heteronormative?
I had a miserable tine in college in the mid '70s. As a gay man I most definitely was't "a fellow [citizen] in a republic of horniness." For me and others like me, there was no "pursuit of pleasure" in the "hormonal pastoral" of college life. Instead, there was lots of "shame, risk [and] hard feelings" that I have been enduring for going on four decades.
I had a miserable tine in college in the mid '70s. As a gay man I most definitely was't "a fellow [citizen] in a republic of horniness." For me and others like me, there was no "pursuit of pleasure" in the "hormonal pastoral" of college life. Instead, there was lots of "shame, risk [and] hard feelings" that I have been enduring for going on four decades.
22
I find it ludicrous that 'heteronormative' is increasingly thrown around as a disparaging term these days - as if it's somehow illegitimate for a writer or artist to base a work upon his/her experience, when that experience conforms to certain traits (in this case, the 'heteronormative' ones).
Of course, were Linklater to create a work that dealt with non-heteronormative themes, he'd likely be pilloried in some quarters for "appropriation."
It's as though the culture has devolved to the point where is something isn't speaking directly at one's experience, the reaction must be outrage.
Of course, were Linklater to create a work that dealt with non-heteronormative themes, he'd likely be pilloried in some quarters for "appropriation."
It's as though the culture has devolved to the point where is something isn't speaking directly at one's experience, the reaction must be outrage.
35
I went to grad school at Penn State in the 70's and had the time of my life, all on the low, mind you, but I never wanted for a partner. There was a bar in the town too, which was the hub of social connections as well. I'm sorry those outlets were not available to you.
8
I have a similar problem with Batman v. Superman which completely failed to represent my experiences. Seriously though, I can say "heteronormative" and do all the time, but I also know nobody's story is everybody's and that there is still much joy to be found in stories that aren't mine. Your story, for example, is not the story of all gay men. In 1980 there were lots of young gay men very much living in their own Republic of Horniness. Obviously all that was about to collide with the AIDS crisis, but in 1980 all was not shame, risk and hard feelings for at least some young gay men, and I would not begrudge a film capturing their hormonal pastoral even if it might necessarily ring more bittersweet than Linklater's.
7
When people complain about the cutbacks in support for public higher education, they should be reminded that this is much of what those tax dollars were paying for. I'm not going to criticize the slackers who aren't at college to learn---they are just exploiting the opportunities they are given---but it would be great to figure out a way for the public to subsidize the young adults who are studying and not fund the people who aren't.
15
The average home price in Burlingame is $1.8 million. So forgive me if I don't take your finger wagging too seriously. College should be free to all even those who squander the opportunity. The rich all think that they are the hardest working people, and love to scold the rest of us, but virtually all of them live off of the products of other people's underpaid labor.
8
Such a shame that Linklater did this, after the admittedly interesting "Dazed and Confused", and the groundbreaking and fascinating "Waking Life", and "A Scanner Darkly". Just from the previews, and the review, an uncannily realistic '80's TNA movie, doesn't sound too insightful.
If y'all like realistic stories about baseball and college, I recommend the book "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach. If Linklater had made a movie based on that book, it would have been thought-provoking and moving; this one seems like it's for horny teens.
If y'all like realistic stories about baseball and college, I recommend the book "The Art of Fielding" by Chad Harbach. If Linklater had made a movie based on that book, it would have been thought-provoking and moving; this one seems like it's for horny teens.
2
Movies don't need to be insightful - just entertaining.
5
Dear Maryjane,
That's true, I should have pointed out that, to me, this one doesn't seem very entertaining either. I can easily see better and more thorough nudity on the internet, and it doesn't look like there's much of a plot. Plus I really have zero interest in baseball.
That's true, I should have pointed out that, to me, this one doesn't seem very entertaining either. I can easily see better and more thorough nudity on the internet, and it doesn't look like there's much of a plot. Plus I really have zero interest in baseball.
1
I hated that book. Didn't think it was realistic at all. Pretentious, maybe.
More white male privilege from Hollywood (or, I guess in this case, Austin).
If only white males would stop making enjoyable works of art ...
If only white males would stop making enjoyable works of art ...
10
In other words it's gentle, sweet, good-natured and humane. Which means it's likely to make about as much money in a year as a more ribald campus-movie like "Neighbors" made in a week. This might have been one of those rare times in which an A O Scott review could have benefited from more liberally applied superlatives.
22
It will follow the path of "Dazed And Confused". Not much boxoffice at the cineplex but a long and robust life on DVD and VOD. Most of Linklater's films seem designed to be watched at home where a bong is just a few feet away. Or in the case of the Sunrise/Sunset trilogy, where you can actually hear the dialogue that can't be heard above the restless legs and popcorn munching at the movie theater.
15
A. O. Scott's review is as understated as this movie sounds, which is just fine with me. He had me at "Frontiers are where you find them." Scott leaves room in his reviews for his readers and this reader is grateful.
11
Thanks.... won't miss it....
9
They say that happiness writes white, but with Dazed, the Before movies and this movie, LInklater proves that saying wrong. Another triumph.