2016 Hangout Comedy Inspired by a Van Halen Anthem Became a Fan-Favorite Cult Classic
He gave us high school in the '70s, so it's only fair he follows up the experience with college in the '80s. A brilliant snapshot of time and place that, according to Collider, has only "aged like fine wine," Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!! is the "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused and like its predecessor includes a stellar soundtrack, this one headlined by a Van Halen hit from 1980.
"Those first few Van Halen albums will always be special," Linklater told Classic Rock in 2016. "It's not their fault that the hair metal bands were their progeny. They were the first, they were the original."
Directly inspired by the band's primal party-rock anthem of the same name, Linklater even used the song's same two exclamation points in his title.
"I loved that title and that song because it can mean a few different things," he said. "It's raunchy but it's funny, with a certain irony and humour to it. Everybody Wants Some!! - it means being young, wanting everything and expecting everything. Van Halen had that primal party innocence, I always equated them to it, and that's a lot of what the movie is about."
A semiautobiographical portrait of Linklater's own transition from high school to college in Texas, the film unfolds through Blake Jenner's Jake, a baseball stud whose first few pre-season days on campus are spent hanging out, drinking, and playing ping-pong with the team.
Sitting at a pretty 87% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film actually bombed at the box office. Like all great cinema does over time, though, it's become a fan-favorite cult classic, thanks to its slice-of-life charm; stellar cast, which includes Zoey Deutch, Wyatt Russell, Austin Amelio, and Glen Powell in his breakout role; and, of course, its totally '80s soundtrack.
In addition to the Van Halen essential track, the film's tunes range from The Knack's "My Sharona" and Pink Floyd's "Fearless" to The Cars' "Good Times Roll" and The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." Dire Straits, Devo, Blondie, Hot Chocolate, and dozens more all make cameos, too. We'd expect nothing less from a helmer who is as much a fan of movies as he is of punk, rock, and new wave.
"I was the guy who went off to college with his whole stereo system, all my LPs and cassettes," Linklater said, per CR. "My car was worthless, but my net worth was in my stereo."
Celebrate 10 years of Everybody Wants Some!! by streaming it for free on Tubi.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 5:32 PM.