Tanya’s Score: Good-and-a-half*
Rated: R
Starring: a pack of current heartthrobs in dated clothes and hair
Plot: It’s 1980 and a college baseball team settles into their lives as teammates, roommates and students.
Tanya’s Verdict: This was one of those movies I put on but had no idea what it was going to be about or who was in it. At first glance, it appeared to have a Dazed and Confused (also written and directed by Richard Linklater) sort of vibe. About 30 minutes in, I figured out the movie’s trajectory – basically a range of character studies occurring over the span of the three days before the start of college. The story unfolds through a series of interactions and conversations strung together via parties, bar scenes and baseball practice. Throughout, there is teasing, hazing, girl-chasing and camaraderie. But it is through the personal connections shown that the movie is borne.
The characters are believable, the conversations are funny and interesting – and the plot arises from these specific elements. Not a typical movie by any means – but that’s the Linklater way. He does not shy away from telling a story in an unexpected yet most often, gratifying way.
*Four score descriptions: Sh**; Okay; Good; Great