Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

"Don't look back. You should never look back."There is a scene during the movie where someone spray painted "This Party Sucked" on the door, and I guess that the same thing can be said about this predictable and formulaic teen comedy that tries way too hard to capture the spirit of former John Hughes' comedies from the 80's. Perhaps it is my fault that I just got around watching this film now, but if that is the case all I can say is that it hasn't aged well considering many films since have done a much better job at delivering laughs and breaking genre conventions. Can't Hardly Wait is completely predictable from start to finish and the characters all fall flat despite some charismatic performances from the cast. The script may be the biggest disappointment because the characters aren't given anything interesting to say and they all play generic characters. This was Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan's first feature film as directors, and they only went on to direct one other movie together (Josie and the Pussycats). Can't Hardly Wait was received quite well in the late 90's, but I can't see its appeal. It feels like a generic teen comedy about teenagers partying after graduation. They all promise to be memorable, but in the end everything that goes on in the party is completely predictable. There are fun moments, but the film never justifies it 100 minute runtime. Jennifer Love Hewitt plays the girl everyone in school loves and admires, but she has recently been dumped by her boyfriend, played by Peter Facinelli, who wants to move on and meet college girls now. Their breakup is the talk of the school, and Ethan Embry's Preston believes fate has given him another shot to talk to the girl of his dreams. Preston has always been in love with Amanda (Hewitt), but she doesn't even know of his existence. We find out about his secret crush for Amanda through his best friend, Denise (Lauren Ambrose), who he confides in. Other people we meet at the party are the classic characters we've seen in many other 80's and 90's teen comedies: some of the hot shot athletes who are best friends with Mike (Facinelli), their gorgeous girlfriends who are part of Amanda's group, the rockstar wannabes, and the nerds who want to avenge all the years of bullying they've endured. Charlie Korsmo gives one of the most funny performances as this nerd who after drinking a bit too much becomes the sensation of the party. There is also a side plot involving Denise getting locked up in the bathroom with Kenny Fisher (Seth Green), someone who she shared a past with but hasn't been in contact since. Locked up together in the bathroom seems like a good way to dig up the past and they both open up with each other. The side stories and secondary characters are actually more interesting than the actual main plot involving Hewitt and Embry's relationship and that is what ultimately hurt the film for me. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Those who make these ridiculous teen-age pictures which is supposed to show the coming of age after high school graduation do a disservice to the youth out there. High school is shown as one big preparation to graduate and drink the night away and that college shall be a 24/7 non-stop continuation of this.As in all these type of films, we have an assortment of characters where Joe College usually winds up behind the egg-ball at film's end and love is realized by others.Enough of the wild parties at a graduate's home. How convenient that the parents aren't home.These pictures really lack substance when you think about it.

I liked this movie a lot. It had all the elements of a great teen movie without the whinny, class warfare of the 80s teen flicks. Seth Green was excellent in his role and has a lot of one liners that we still use around our house today. Its hard to really critique this movie on a normal basis because it lacks real depth. But if you want to laugh a lot and have a good time with friends, this is the movie to break out of the DVD collection. Like I said before, this is truly the last great teen movie to come out of Hollywood. I've heard that the directors cut is better but the original has enough laughs to make it watchable. Watch it....and watch it again!

'Can't Hardly Wait' has nostalgic value for me and it is a really fun film. While it sort of centres around the Ethan Embry-Jennifer Love Hewitt romantic track. It is really the surroundings that are the major treat of this film. You'll see a host of upcoming talented actors, like Lauren Ambrose, Freddy Rodriguez, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, Selma Blair, Clea Duvall, Seth Peterson, Jason Segel, Erik Palladino, Jaime Pressly, Sara Rue, Jenna Elfman, Melissa Joan Heart, Leslie Grossman and Donald Faison, either in supporting roles or making funny appearances by playing colourful characters. It's interesting to see the progress they made as actors over the year. Elfont and Kaplan's writing is amusing. The movie has plenty of slapstick and the jokes work brilliantly. Of the main cast, Embry and Love Hewitt are good but it is Lauren Ambrose, Charlie Korsmo and Seth Green who steal the show. I personally prefer 'Can't Hardly Wait' much more to overrated rubbish like 'American Pie', 'Ten Things I Hate About You', 'Never Been Kissed', 'Superbad' etc.