The Good Ol’ Days Are Better Than Ever in the ‘Everybody Wants Some’ Trailer

What separates Richard Linklater’s crowning achievement Dazed and Confused (unless you consider his crowning achievement to be the generation-spanning Boyhood, or the rocket of pure joy that is School of Rock, or the minor miracles of the Before trilogy, or…) from the typical high-school coming-of-age flick? It’s got all the usual elements of the average teen movie, from hijinks to unresolved crushes to beer-and-weed bonfire bashes, and yet there’s clearly something special about it. Linklater’s keen eye for detail and his understanding of setting made the chronicle of the last day of high school in Texan suburbia feel real, like it was made by someone who lived through this cultural moment and understands why it felt the way it did.

And so it makes a little sense that in trailer form, Linklater’s follow-up to Dazed and Confused might look a little been-there, done-that. The new spot promoting Everybody Wants Some jumps ahead from the ‘70s to the ‘80s and graduates from high school to college, but apart from that, this ‘spiritual sequel’ is pretty much The Force Awakens to Dazed and Confused‘s A New Hope. Most elements have survived intact, from the classic rock soundtrack to the weed-fueled mischief to the shy guy that the girls can’t help but notice. This new film will take on a flavor of its own by focusing on the baseball team at the fictitious college, and specifically the new class of freshman recruits who are put through their paces by the seniors. (The taped-to-the-wall prank smacks strongly of the ketchup-and-mustard spray in the original film.)

It’s impossible to capture the easygoing hangout charms of Linklater’s films in a peppy, compressed trailer. The trailer format is anathema to everything Linklater stands for; he’s all about taking it easy, soaking up the vibe of a scene rather than getting in and getting out. There’s little doubt that Everybody Wants Some will be another winner in the director’s continuing streak of triumphs, but its difficult to discern too much of its feel from the trailer alone.