Can't Hardly Wait Review
by Scott Renshaw (renshaw AT inconnect DOT com)June 14th, 1998
CAN'T HARDLY WAIT
(Columbia)
Starring: Ethan Embry, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose, Charlie Korsmo, Peter Facinelli, Jenna Elfman.
Screenplay: Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont.
Producers: Jenno Topping and Betty Thomas.
Directors: Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes, sexual situations) Running Time: 96 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont have commented that one of the reasons they made CAN'T HARDLY WAIT was that "nobody was making those good John Hughes teen comedies any more." That's probably why CAN'T HARDLY WAIT feels so much like a Greatest Hits compilation, peppered with recognizable elements from the entire Hughes oeuvre of the mid-80s and a dozen other teen comedies of the last 25 years for good measure. The events center around a huge party on the last day of high school, where characters of every social stratum congregate [DAZED AND CONFUSED]. Nondescript nice guy Preston (Ethan Embry) hopes to make a connection at the party with popular, seemingly unattainable Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt), whom he has long adored from afar [SAY ANYTHING], before he leaves for college the next day [AMERICAN GRAFFITI]. Preston has a girl as a best pal, tomboyish and anti-social Denise (Lauren Ambrose) [SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL]. Meanwhile, geeky William (Charlie Korsmo) and his two even geekier cohorts [SIXTEEN CANDLES] hope to use their superior minds to get back at Amanda's jock ex-boyfriend Mike (Peter Facinelli) and his buddies [REVENGE OF THE NERDS], until geek and jock find a chance to bond over their shared insecurities [THE BREAKFAST CLUB].
That's one hefty dose of deja-vu, enough to overwhelm most films this slight. Fortunately, Kaplan and Elfont prove as adept at entertaining as they are at reminiscing. CAN'T HARDLY WAIT may be familiar and predictable, but it's never out-and-out dumb, and at times it's surprisingly funny. The appealing cast features solid work from Lauren Ambrose as vulnerable wiseacre Denise and Seth Green as a tries-too-hard homeboy with whom she ends up locked in a bathroom. Consistently goofy scenes spring up out of nowhere, from the karaoke performance of "Paradise City" which turns a drunken William into a sex symbol, to the arc of a high school band's career from inception to breakup to reunion without ever actually playing a song. Some of the forced whimsy does fall flat (notably Jenna Elfman's cameo as an "angel" offering advice to the lovelorn Preston), and Kaplan and Elfont probably toss a few too many pop culture references on the fire. For once, however, the problems in a teen comedy spring from over-writing rather than under-writing.
If there's one noteworthy hole in CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, it's the central plot of Preston's pursuit of Amanda. Ethan Embry is pleasant enough in an unrequited puppy-dog way, but this is the kind of role John Cusack defined a decade ago; you root for Preston not because his entire demeanor sells his longing, but because the machinations of the plot point you in that direction. Similarly, Jennifer Love Hewitt provides a merely-adequate object of desire, her performance doing little to emphasize that Preston could be more interested in what she has inside than what she has outside. Of all the plot threads running through CAN'T HARDLY WAIT, theirs is by far the least interesting, though it's the one inevitably destined to provide the happy ending.
Still, it's hard not to find charms in a teen comedy that's lively, moderately intelligent and effective in its portrayal of high school social dynamics. It also features a wonderfully eclectic soundtrack which runs the gamut from Guns 'N' Roses to Smashmouth, from Third Eye Blind to Run-DMC, from Parliament to the title tune by the Replacements. CAN'T HARDLY WAIT even manages to include a bit of social commentary in its adolescent craziness, promoting environmental awareness, safe sex and responsible drinking and driving behavior. Sure, the latter is emphasized when party attendees drop their car keys into a bowl, which is yet another detail swiped from SAY ANYTHING. CAN'T HARDLY WAIT shows off its antecedents unabashedly, and still comes up with something satisfying on its own level. Looks like John Hughes didn't have to worry about telling a generation of movie-goers "Don't You Forget About Me."
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 re-Hughes-able premises: 6.
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