Interview: EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Actors Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, and Blake Jenner Act Out

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!, Richard Linklater's retro-comedy set in 1980, follows college baseball players as they drink, smoke, screw, and fight their way through the weekend before class starts. To the casual observer, it would seem the film is no more than white guys being white guys while they white guy on the weekend before class starts. EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! cast members Ryan Guzman, Blake Jenner, and Tyler Hoechlin explain why it's much, much more.

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Raw audio of interview with Ryan Guzman,Tyler Hoechlin, and Blake Jenner.

"It's the camaraderie and chemistry between the guys," says Hoechlin. Though the characters' surface appeal might be lacking, "they have a respect for each other and they get along so well you want to root for them."

Varsity jackets aside, the (base)ballers are quintessential college students. The freshmen arrive on campus aiming to be all they can be only to find they are small-pond fish in a big pond with-in this case- "some douchebag fish," says Jenner.

Hoechlin is the senior Glenn McReynolds and Guzman is cheesecake(s) boy Roper. McReynolds and Roper are two such douchebags, but their douchebaggery comes from the heart. To them, teaching new players the ropes is a thankless public service.

Coach, McReynolds (Hoechlin), and Roper (Guzman) lay down the rules for the freshman.

Each freshman has his own way of coping with the unlimited possibilities of young adulthood. Billy "Beuter" Autry (Will Brittain) clings to home. Jay Niles (Juston Street) clings to delusions of grandeur. And while the nerdy Brumley (Tanner Kalina) folds to peer pressure, Jake, Jenner's character, flows with it. "He's just coming in and absorbing it as he goes along," says Jenner.

The ensemble cast brings the vital genuineness and chemistry Hoechlin talks about. The actors pass on their likeability to their dudebro characters and give Linklater's already charismatically written characters more personality.

Even though Hoechlin played baseball at a university with "state" in it, Guzman is a former MMA fighter and college athlete, and Jenner has a cool-guy haircut, they all laughed at my wack jokes, waived off my self-deprecation and, within the first few minutes of our meeting, they'd already apologized for the jocks that bullied me during my wonder years. It took the U.S. government 150 years to apologize for slavery.

All this makes for a film that is endearing despite the characters' unbridled immaturity, unruly behavior, and wild antics. Even when they're hunting for and getting "some," you can't hate them for it.

However fun they are to be around, though, I'm very happy they have a "No Girls Allowed" sign outside the door of their male clubhouse. "Me and my best friends, we all majorly 'F' with each other," says Jenner. "I think I've f-ed with Tyler like 25 million times on this f-ing press tour."

McReynolds (Hoechlin) splits the ball and wins a bet against
his serial gambling teammate Nesbit (Austin Amelio).

On one of those occasions, Jenner hit Hoechlin with a water bottle.

Not to be outdone, Hoechlin recounts his retaliation."I wish you would have seen the shot I hit him back with though," he brags. "From far, I curved it around the corner and right in the back of his neck."

They all insist this isn't abuse. "Overall, it's just a guy thing," Hoechlin says. "For me, the people I feel closest with are the ones that I give the hardest time to. It's not the ones I build up. It's the one I break down constantly."

Jenner agrees. "Those are the best, best, best relationships-when you can be cool with each other, but also just 'F' with each other."

Will Brittain was apparently everyone's best, best, best friend because he got "F-ed" with the most according to Guzman.

"We were in Miami and [some other cast members] were trying to throw grapes into a glass, and somebody decided to throw a grape at somebody, so I decided to get [him] back. And I grabbed a--"

"--plum," Jenner interjects. See how they finish each other's sentences?

"This sounds so horrible." Guzman laughs. "I grabbed a ripe plum and I threw it at a decent amount of speed into Will Brittain's back, and I left a little contusion."

Just like the characters. "They think they're invincible and end up with a huge ass bruise," says Jenner. Then the three men fill the room with crazy laughter and inside jokes. They so silly. And inscrutable.

Yes, inscrutable. But EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! isn't. "It gives you an in-depth look into [college baseball players] lives," says Guzman, who swears the life of a student athlete is not all beer pong and easy sex. "We were doing 8 hours a day of athletics, and we still had to get the same grades as everyone else." Then he smiles before adding, "Not all jocks are as dumb as they look."

To clarify, the film does not channel Charlize "How many roles are out there for the gorgeous, f-ing, gown-wearing eight-foot model?" Theron. There's still some beer pong and easy sex. Guzman got to class and practice, but he still made time for extracurricular activities.

The freshman players enter "the wonderful world of college pussy."

Extracurricular activities that none of them will discuss. At most, Guzman gives a very oblique response before trailing off. "There are descriptions of certain encounters. We don't like to give away too much so, you know..." Their conversations must be disgusting. Well, they are in my fantasies, at least.

Which is what EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! is-- one long fantasy sequence. Jenner describes Jake's last moments in the film: "He [mulls] over the whole experience he just had, and he's like, 'F, this is going to be awesome. I cannot wait for next weekend or just tomorrow or after this class.' He's just content. He's taken this whole weekend to find his niche and, without even trying to stick his flag in the stand, he sits down and feels there."

"[College] is definitely going to be fun for him."

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EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! written and directed by Richard Linklater is currently showing at Sundance Cinemas, Houston. Stars Will Brittain, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, J. Quinton Johnson, Glen Powell, and Wyatt Russell. Rated R FOR LANGUAGE THROUGHOUT, SEXUAL CONTENT, DRUG USE AND SOME NUDITY.

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