At the end of August 1980, Jake (Jenner) arrives at his Texas university, moving into the baseball team house with a crowd of chuckleheads who know how to make the most of college life. The alpha males are the swaggering star player McReynolds (Hoechlin) and the good-time guy Finn (Powell). And over the next three days, Jake navigates a world of macho joking, pranks, initiations, a baseball practice session and a lot of alcohol, as absolutely everything is an excuse to throw a party. He also makes an unexpected connection with theatre student Beverly (Deutch).

Linklater recreates the period with a knowing attention to detail, mainly in the clothing and a fabulous song score that encompasses rock, disco and country. Just as vividly, he catches that first flush of independence as these guys find themselves away from their parents for the first time, with a few days to kill before they need to get serious about their coursework. Being in their late teens and early 20s, it's natural that they'll be obsessed with transgressive alcohol and drugs consumption and, of course, sex.

Having Jenner's Jake at the centre is a clever touch, as he bridges gap between the nice guys and the chucklehead jocks. Jenner is likeable and engaging, even when he does something irresponsible. By contrast, his teammates are fairly idiotic good-time boys, gleefully taunting the newbies while flaunting the few years of experience they have. The standout among the ensemble is Powell's relatively intelligent chatterbox, while Russell's woolly stoner has a wonderfully surreal charm all his own.

Linklater lets the events unfold without much of a narrative, counting down the hours until the first lecture begins while these guys pack as many antics in as they can. The one through-line is Jake's interest in Beverly, which blossoms into a warm and understated romance that allows both Jenner and Deutch to fill their scenes with terrific subtext. But mostly, this is a sharply well-made comedy about a group of skilfully written and played young people stretching their wings. And what they do and say is simply hilarious.

themes, language, innuendo, drugs

20.Apr.16