Big Party

Wow, Blink 182, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Tupac RIP references, Dharma (but not Greg) {Jenna Elfman}, that guy with the high pitched voice from Empire Records (Ethan Embry) and OMGZ!!! is that the little kid from Hook (1991) all grown up (Charles Korsmo)? Looks like this one's about the late 90s, and it's a decent example of a prime vintage.

I can't really explain the nostalgic value of seeing Jerry O'Connell drop in for a cameo, seeing Selma Blair get hit on by Mike Dexter, seeing Sabrina herself Melissa Joan Hart run around like a kid with ADHD and seeing Breckin Meyer ask us if "Anyone ordered a Love Burger?" But it is magic. And if you look really carefully, there's Jaime Pressley and Jason Segel, present at the role call as well.

When they were making this film they were looking for more than a fast hit, casting some popular young actors in a clichéd situation involving a party after the last day of High School. They made a film that encapsulated the time perfectly. Not just the fashions and attitudes, but the way movies were being made, and the way popular culture viewed the world. This movie was accurate to the time by showing its characters to be shallow, materialistic and oblivious. It didn't have anything to say about 90s teen culture, but caught what it was. While I don't give the film credit for its clichéd characterizations, I do give it credit for the way these clichés engage with each other into a coherent, though predictable whole.

The main story being told involves Amanda Beckett, who has just been dumped by her jock boyfriend Mike Dexter. Nerdy classmate Preston Meyers, flanked by his nerdy friend Denise Fleming, decides that this is the night, at the end of High School Party, to confess his love for Amanda. And that's pretty much it. There are a lot of subplots and minor characters but it all happens around the main narrative.

Ethan Embry, as Meyers, is pretty funny, Korsmo, as a vengeful nerd seeking revenge on Mike Dexter for a life time of cruel pranks is actually pretty good. Lauren Ambrose is decent as Denise, but her character is annoying and quite hypocritical. Most of the cast come across well in limited screen time, and some good cameos and funny scenes fort the trailer, with a theme by Smashmouth "I can't get Enough of you Baby," and it was a minor hit at the time it came out.

More than a decade later, Can't Hardy Wait is the ultimate nostalgia fix. It looks like a 90s movie, follows all the conventions of a 90s movie and is made like a 90s movie. Not intelligent, but still entertaining. I'll admit a personal bias, but still recommend it if you are a fan of the era.

While walking through my local video store, I have walked past this cover box a trillion times and never really looked at it. Then one day, I noticed that Seth Green was on the cover, and since I became a fan of him during "Buffy", I picked up this movie, thinking, "What the heck, it's free!" (I had a Rent One Get One Free Coupon). I took it home not expecting anything but a few laughs from Seth, and boy was I ever shocked!

"Can't Hardly Wait" is not the greatest movie ever made, but I'll be totally honest with you, it's the biggest surprise of a movie I have ever watched.

I now own this movie, and it's one of those movies that, when I'm just not in the mood to go to a "galaxy far, far away", (yes, sometimes it happens) I pop this in and giggle hysterically.

Seth Green is wonderful playing the wannabe gangsta. The members of Loveburger are a riot. And Jennifer Love Hewitt isn't even all that annoying.

The soundtrack is quite amazing. With a movie like this, you'd assume that it'd be just Smash Mouth, Blink 182 & Third Eye Blind, and yes, those groups are included, but during the party scenes, there are a number of classic party tunes from Guns -n- Roses, Tone Loc and RUN DMC. Not to mention the whole Barry Manilow "Mandy" references.

No, this movie will not be re-released for a 20th Anniversary, but it's definitely worth watching, and ranks far above all the other "teen flicks" that are swarming to your local theater as you read this.

Again, like the many, many teen comedies to come before it, CAN'T HARDLY WAIT has you watching as the teenagers run around, crack jokes, yell at each other, scream, drink beer, and kiss and fall in love. Yes, it's all very mushy and romantic. Not so much in this movie...

Like 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, this movie doesn't really concentrate on the romantic elements until later in the film, which I like. It is more original and gives the movie more flavor. This is why most of these teen romance flicks are not really big at the box office. Its because they are predictable, they have been done a thousand times before and because everyone knows how it will turn out. That is why horror movies are always big. Because at least with a horror movie you usually have to figure out who the masked killer is or something like that. But with these boring teen comedies, you always know how it will turn out. This movie is different.

You never really know what is going to happen, because this movie takes the honor of having a very large cast of characters and follows each of them very specifically, developing a story and history for each of them. The cast includes Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Melissa Joan Hart, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Jenna Elfman, Breckin Meyer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Brandon Williams, Jaime Pressly, Liz Stauber, Clea DuVall, Brian Klugman, and Jerry O'Connel have parts in this movie. Many of these people only have small cameos, but all are hilarious in this delightfully funny teen romp.

CAN'T HARDLY WAIT gets 5/5.

This movie was great. It's not blockbuster, but it wasn't made to be. It was something geared towards teenagers, so older folks beware. I would not go see it if you're out of your twenties. It was funny, it was sweet and that's about it. The two best performances were given by Ethan Embry and Seth Green. Ethan was male lead, Preston who convincingly yearned for Jennifer Love Hewitt's character, Amanda. Ethan pulled his role off wonderfully. The second awesome performance was given by Seth Green who was the local gangsta-wannabe Kenny. This one had me rolling on the floor laughing because sadly, most of the guys i know are just like him. So, if you just want something to entertain, make you laugh, and not think to hard, I'd go see this movie.

In the wake of the John Hughes teen-flick boom of the '80s, the '90s was well-stocked with a plethora of coming-of-age films aimed at teenagers. Some were better ("Dazed & Confused") than others ("Empire Records"), but regardless of where you stood on the social ladder, there was most assuredly a film tailor-made just for you. For every "She's All That," there was a "The Craft." Perhaps no film so perfectly encapsulated the late '90s vibe better than "Can't Hardly Wait," a film named after a Replacements song jam packed with music from the likes of Eve 6 and Blink-182. Arriving just one year before "American Pie" would close the decade with a definitive thrust, "Can't Hardly Wait" didn't exactly make a big splash upon release, but has proved to be one of the most re-watchable of its time and of its kind.

It's the last day of high school at Huntington Hillside and the class of '98 packs into the house of one of its more unfortunate classmates for one last hoorah. A virtual melting pot of geeks, stoners, jocks, morons and miscreants, this is a party for just about everyone. Most prominent is our lead character, Preston (played by Ethan Embry, recalling a time when the actor was known as more than "that creepy guy" from any number of horror/thrillers), who is taking advantage of the occasion to finally tell the girl of his dreams, Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt, recalling a time when the actress was the "it" girl), just how much he admires her. He's been silently stalking her through the halls, writing a long-winded love letter that he plans on giving to her tonight (because that's not creepy or anything). On the other side of the party, disgruntled nerd William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo) seeks revenge against his tormentor, the insufferable jock Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli), who -- depending on who you ask -- is either a god, a role model or an a-hole.

The guest list is jam-packed with a slew of actors who were either in every other film of its era or who would go on to do bigger gigs. From Seth Green's wannabe poser, to the criminally underrated Lauren Ambrose (who turns into Green's unlikely love interest), you can't throw a cat in this film without hitting a "Hey, I know that guy/girl!" Jason Segal, Selma Blair, Jerry O'Connell, Breckin Meyer, Clea DuVall, Freddy Rodriguez, Donald Faison, Jaime Pressly and Jenna Elfman, playing an angelic stripper. This film is stacked with young talent. Thankfully, none of this ever feels cluttered or disjointed. Directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont duck in and out of different social circles with ease, delivering a memorable moment just about every other minute. The film is high-energy and the cast is more than up to the task of making the sum greater than its parts. Though Green and Ambrose nearly hijack the narrative with their natural chemistry, the film truly belongs to the entire cast.

More than just a time capsule, "Can't Hardly Wait" is a great example of a teen flick done just right. The audience is never insulted, though there is admittedly more than enough sentiment on hand. Unlike the aforementioned "American Pie," the film never goes for gross and never cheapens its characters. These feel like real people having a real experience. Though it didn't have as big an impact as it should've, chances are, if you came of age during the late '90s and saw this film, it's an undeniable part of your DNA at this point. Insanely re-watchable, even those of us in our '30s and even '40s (!) will find it worth revisiting from time to time, unlike our actual high school experiences.