Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some is a film that works on multiple levels, being both a highly-entertaining, funny comedy about a group of college baseball players trying to get laid, as well as a quietly profound examination of societies desire to strip away individualism through categorization, often via stereotypes or social cliches. Everybody Wants Some focuses on a group of college baseball players, who have much success on and off the diamond, navigating college life as they experience the freedoms and responsibilities of being truly an adult for the first time. Through the eyes of Jake, a new freshman pitcher, Everybody Wants Some captures the relative freedom of college and how this lack of parental authority truly provides the first sense of freedom/independence, suggesting that it's a crucial step in self-discovery about oneself and what one wants to do with their life. For starters, Everybody Wants Some features a fantastic screenplay full of wit and charm, inviting the viewer into the world of these baseball players and providing lots of laugh due to their juvenile antics. Many of these characters could be described in a derogatory sense as "Bros", but Linklater shows very little judgement throughout the entire narrative, laughing with these characters and their college experience instead of looking to judge them. Featuring a cast of relative unknowns, Everybody Wants Some works so well as a college comedy due to the chemistry between its characters, who are all very believable in their roles as various baseball players living under one roof. While much of the film's antics are focused on a group of baseball players trying to get laid and typical college debauchery, Linklater's film quietly reveals the cliches and stereotypes which exist in our society while simultaneously exposing the shallowness of these preconceived notions. Throughout this narrative these jock baseball players go to a Disco club, a Country bar, a Punk Rock Show, and a Performing Arts party, all places in which society says they shouldn't enjoy. While Linklater certainly acknowledges the fish-out-of-water perspective of his characters, they all remain true to who they are as individuals, for the most part, while still having a good time regardless of whether it's not their typical "scene". While some may this observation to be a bit of a stretch, I believe this deconstruction of cliches and stereotypes is simply part of Linklater's greater point about college in Everybody Wants Some, suggesting that this is the first time in most people's lives they are truly free of authority, with the filmmaking suggesting it's a necessary and important step in self-discovery and finding ones' own passion in life. Whether you are an athlete or an arts major, Everybody Wants Some loudly suggests that there is no difference deep down, with what oneself finds self-satisfaction and self-meaning in being far more important than anyone elses' pre-conceived notions about what is important.
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June 2023
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