There’s never been a book written about the sub-genre of the so-called “hangout” film. In fact, the earliest reference I’ve come across of the term was Quentin Tarantino describing his admiration for Howard Hawks’ “Rio Bravo” and Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused.” Tarantino defined the sub-genre as being, “movies that you hang out with the characters so much that they actually become your friends.”

When director Carson Lund was on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast he talked about setting out to make a hangout film with “Eephus.” The director, who used to write about movies for Slant, has become a student of the genre, and offered a more specific definition.

“[The hangout movie] is a film that prioritizes character interaction at the expense of forward plot momentum. It’s more about just enjoying, as a viewer, spending time with these people,” said Lund on the podcast. “ Howard Hawks is the master of this.