...This is actually one of the most entertaining teen comedies I've seen yet. In the post-John Hughes teen era, 1998's underrated multi-character comedy, "Can't Hardly Wait," a joint venture by directors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, is funny and engaging in a way most teen comedies aren't anymore. This is a movie I've seen a fair number of times over the years but I have to admit a particular fondness for the characters, despite an uneven script and other writing issues, as it brings back memories of my high school career, which I left in June of 2004.
In the movie, Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose) reminds the audience that "fate works in some really {expletive} ways sometimes" - we get rebuffed every time we want something to happen but doesn't. But sometimes life cuts us a break and that's what would happen for Lonely Guy Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry). For four long years, Preston has pined for Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who is of course the pretty cheerleader and has conveniently ended her relationship with her idiot jock boyfriend Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli). In the opening sequences, Preston explains the circumstances regarding his "fateful" relationship with Amanda. An aspiring writer, Preston has revised and revised a soul-bearing love letter that will confess to Amanda the feelings and reasons for why they were destined to be together despite life elements that have proved otherwise. Preston plans to give her the letter at a post-graduation party the night before he's scheduled to leave for Boston. And of course, a number of circumstances and misunderstandings will hamper Preston's dogged determination to give Amanda his letter. But before one writes this off as a typical teen romance, please let me continue...
Even more interesting, are the various subplots taking place paralleled next to the main plot line. Mike Dexter isn't exactly the most cherished individual in high school, as explained by William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo), in a verbal tirade that parodies Bill Pullman's inspirational speech from "Independence Day" (1996). Along with his two geek buddies, William plans to lure Mike and one of his random jock friends to the pool house, take Polaroids, and capture them in a "naked embrace." However, circumstances allow William to become the unlikely life of the party. Meanwhile, wannabe homeboy Kenny Fisher (Seth Green), plans to "sex as many honies" as possible at this party. He's got the full kit in his backpack, including the "Kama Sutra," the Hindu book of love. But his plans take a backseat when he's locked in the upstairs bathroom with Denise. It is here that the two former friends, now strangers, confront one another about the drastic changes their lives have taken since junior high, and it is this portion of the script that comes to be the most interesting, largely because of the interaction between Ambrose and Green. In addition to these, there are plenty of smaller subplots including a foreign exchange student, the party hostess as she tries to control the night's events (as well as her sanity), a yearbook geek (Melissa Joan Hart) who wants to be the first to get the signature of every graduating senior, William's nerd buddies who are on top of the pool house, and a band called Loveburger (fronted by Breckin Meyer) tries to get its act together but in-fighting nearly proves to be the group's demise. Boy, it's going to be one hell of a night...
Despite its script problems, "Can't Hardly Wait" is sure to get some kind of a cult following in a few years, which of course comes from the fact that the subplots are far more interesting than the core story. But I dismiss it as nothing truly detrimental to the film as a whole. Of course, my favorite story just happens to be the one with Amanda and Lonely Guy Preston. (I guess it's because I more or less fall into the category of high school Lonely Guys who pine for the pretty girl but don't get the pretty girl.) Yet, "Can't Hardly Wait" obviously can't hardly wait for some kind of cult fame over the next couple of years.
7/10
In the movie, Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose) reminds the audience that "fate works in some really {expletive} ways sometimes" - we get rebuffed every time we want something to happen but doesn't. But sometimes life cuts us a break and that's what would happen for Lonely Guy Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry). For four long years, Preston has pined for Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who is of course the pretty cheerleader and has conveniently ended her relationship with her idiot jock boyfriend Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli). In the opening sequences, Preston explains the circumstances regarding his "fateful" relationship with Amanda. An aspiring writer, Preston has revised and revised a soul-bearing love letter that will confess to Amanda the feelings and reasons for why they were destined to be together despite life elements that have proved otherwise. Preston plans to give her the letter at a post-graduation party the night before he's scheduled to leave for Boston. And of course, a number of circumstances and misunderstandings will hamper Preston's dogged determination to give Amanda his letter. But before one writes this off as a typical teen romance, please let me continue...
Even more interesting, are the various subplots taking place paralleled next to the main plot line. Mike Dexter isn't exactly the most cherished individual in high school, as explained by William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo), in a verbal tirade that parodies Bill Pullman's inspirational speech from "Independence Day" (1996). Along with his two geek buddies, William plans to lure Mike and one of his random jock friends to the pool house, take Polaroids, and capture them in a "naked embrace." However, circumstances allow William to become the unlikely life of the party. Meanwhile, wannabe homeboy Kenny Fisher (Seth Green), plans to "sex as many honies" as possible at this party. He's got the full kit in his backpack, including the "Kama Sutra," the Hindu book of love. But his plans take a backseat when he's locked in the upstairs bathroom with Denise. It is here that the two former friends, now strangers, confront one another about the drastic changes their lives have taken since junior high, and it is this portion of the script that comes to be the most interesting, largely because of the interaction between Ambrose and Green. In addition to these, there are plenty of smaller subplots including a foreign exchange student, the party hostess as she tries to control the night's events (as well as her sanity), a yearbook geek (Melissa Joan Hart) who wants to be the first to get the signature of every graduating senior, William's nerd buddies who are on top of the pool house, and a band called Loveburger (fronted by Breckin Meyer) tries to get its act together but in-fighting nearly proves to be the group's demise. Boy, it's going to be one hell of a night...
Despite its script problems, "Can't Hardly Wait" is sure to get some kind of a cult following in a few years, which of course comes from the fact that the subplots are far more interesting than the core story. But I dismiss it as nothing truly detrimental to the film as a whole. Of course, my favorite story just happens to be the one with Amanda and Lonely Guy Preston. (I guess it's because I more or less fall into the category of high school Lonely Guys who pine for the pretty girl but don't get the pretty girl.) Yet, "Can't Hardly Wait" obviously can't hardly wait for some kind of cult fame over the next couple of years.
7/10