Welcome to another installment of RETRO REVIEW, where we take a trip back in time to look at films made before the year 2000. This week we'll be reviewing the 1998 teen comedy, CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont.
This film is very reminiscent of teen movies from the '80's such as Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles. Most of the action takes place at a wild high school graduation party, as Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont thought the best scenes of most teen movies were the party scenes. This film contained typical high school stereotypes such as the nerd getting revenge on jocks, the shy guy trying to get with the most popular girl in school, and the jocks thinking they are better than everyone else.
The plot consists of shy Preston Myers trying to get a note to the popular Amanda Beckett. This young man goes through quite a bit to make sure she gets it. However, her initial reaction is not what he expected. I mean she had just broken up with her boyfriend, who happens to be a jock.
I enjoyed this film because it was heartwarming and funny. One of the best scenes was when Kenny Fisher, played by Seth Green, tried to get with every girl at the party. Obviously, his goal was to lose his virginity. Green had hilarious comedic timing and I thought his performance was fun to watch.
Another interesting scene is when all the guys at the party try to get with Amanda. She gets really upset and goes off on Preston when he finally confesses his feelings. Do these two end up together? You'll have to watch to find out.
The casting of this film was perfection. I couldn't imagine another actress playing Amanda Beckett besides Jennifer Love Hewitt. Ethan Embrey was wonderfully cast as the shy and sweet Preston. Peter Facinelli did a fantastic job playing the role of smart mouthed and egotistical, Mike Dexter.
Can't Hardly Wait received a 41% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Most reviewers agreed that it was a good film, just not a great film. Obviously, this film wasn't the greatest ever made. However, it was fun to watch and had some great acting in it.
Can't Hardly Wait reminded me of a John Hughes movie and that's definitely not a bad thing. If you remember your teen years fondly or even if you don't, you won't regret giving this movie a chance.
Lisa's Score: 8/10
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