Linklater's done the impossible: he's made me nostalgic for high school. Not only does he flat out direct the hell out of this; in his usual understated yet tight approach, he's able to capture that freeing feeling at the start of summer, when nothing else mattered but hanging out with your best buds. Not only that, but this cast is just at their prime here, and that killer soundtrack encapsulates the era so well. Only the coolest and stylish of its kind.