Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Multicharacter teenage comedy about high school graduates with different agenda of life on graduation night.

Directors:

Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan

Writers:

Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont

Stars:

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Amanda Beckett
Ethan Embry	...	Preston Meyers
Charlie Korsmo	...	William Lichter
Lauren Ambrose	...	Denise Fleming
Peter Facinelli	...	Mike Dexter
Seth Green	...	Kenny Fisher
Michelle Brookhurst	...	Girl Whose Party It Is
Alexander Martin	...	Exchange Student
Erik Palladino	...	Cousin Ron
Channon Roe	...	Jock #1
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Jock #2
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Jock #3 (as Freddy Rodriguez)
Joel Michaely	...	X-Phile #1
Jay Paulson	...	X-Phile #2
Brian Hall	...	Real Homeboy

Storyline

It's high school graduation and, like all seniors, they want to party. So, 500 high school seniors look forward to a party while, in the meantime, a boy wants to get a girl he's loved for years who just broke up with her boyfriend, and one head-case who wants revenge on a lifelong bully. So, the party comes, things develop. People have sex, drink, and go along with most of the guidelines of a high school graduation party.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | f rated | reference to brad pitt | last day of school | stolen car | 

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Taglines:

In the history of partying, Huntington Hills High School is about to become legendary.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for teen drinking and sexuality, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Can't Hardly Wait Page

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Party

Filming Locations:

1090 Rubio Street, Altadena, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,025,910, 14 June 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$25,339,117, 30 August 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Tall Trees Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming the final scenes of the party meant a chaotic destruction of the house. Directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont gave the go-ahead to completely trash the place. This involved the cast and crew pulling out drawers, dropping food all over the floor, messing up the carpets, and someone spray painting "This Party Sucked" on the front door. This all happened in one hour.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie, several characters (including Preston) are introduced with yearbook entries. Toward the end of the movie, we see Preston's entry in the actual yearbook. The two almost match, but not quite; the actual yearbook includes French Club, but this is omitted from the introductory bit.

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Quotes

[drunk for the first time in his life]
William: I can't feel my legs, I HAVE NO LEGS!

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Crazy Credits

After all the credits are done rolling Mike Dexter yells out "I'll kick everyone's ass in this room" which he said earlier on in the film.

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Connections

Features Run-D.M.C.: It's Tricky (1987)

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Soundtracks

Sugar Cane
Written by Richard McNevin-Duff
Performed by Space Monkeys
Courtesy of Chingón/Interscope Records
Under license from Universal Music Special Markets

User Reviews

Ranks high in its genre

What a sweet movie this is! Predictable all the way, but saved by it's extremely likeable cast: Ethan Embry, as the daydreamer nice guy, Seth Green, showing off is talent in his part as a wigger and the photogenic Jennifer Love Hewitt, who has the part of "perfect girl" down to perfection. (Is there any other way to describe it? She really is that good at it.)

Like most good films in its genre Can't Hardly Wait has many witty moments, pace and charm. The parallels with Fast Times At Ridgemont High are obvious.

Seth Green as a white boy who really would rather have been a black boy is a very funny and to the point social comment. It's a shame, however, that the film can't break loose from the stereotypes that resurface in every teen comedy. There's the blonde bimbos who just look pretty and are armpieces to the jocks. There's the jocks who drink beer and pick on the nerds. There's the nerds who have big glasses and re-enact scenes from Star Wars and the likes. Why don't producers seem able to break away from those stereotypes? The moments where these characters are brought into play, the boring slapstick they engage in... Those are the moments where the film loses it's pace and that's why these films only brush upon interesting subject matter. This is also the reason why new generations won't be bored to watch until the end of this film in twenty years time. I know I changed the channel 30 minutes into Fast Times...

Without the everlasting stereotypes and standard storylines (nice boy wants girl... nerd gets cheerleader for one night or forever more) this kind of film might actually distinguish itself. As long as that doesn't change the rating of this film is likely to remain stuck at 6.3, at which it is stuck right now. That's where the genre deserves to be as it is. I rate this film slightly higher at 7.