Drive Me Crazy

Well, the plotline was predictable, however, Drive me Crazy is a highly entertaining teenage romp. The dialogue is witty, the theme is good-spirited, and, as in every teen movie, the soundtrack is great.

The film has its flaws, however, particularly in Melissa Joan Hart, one of the worst actresses of our time. Thanks to her, an almost entirely likeable character is ruined. Her cute lines are recited flatly, and she adds no wit or life to the film. However, I was very impressed with the actor portraying Nicole's project, Adrian Grenier. His looks and intelligent delivery make the entire film worth seeing.

Overall, a cute and cheery romance that does not feature the head cheerleader nor the lowest of the low geek- it presents it's characters and storyline in a fun, believable way, and it'll leave you loving every minute of it.

The non-director's cut left out many needed flashback sequences that helped developed the character's more thoroughly. For instance, the electocutes were orginally named pink bitches. Also, a very underrated sequence was ray's mockumentary that implied that high school students at basketball games were no different than nazi germany. when the in-crowd makes fun of him nicole, points out "hey, he's going to win so many mtv video awards and you're going to do nothin" or something to that effect. The actual director's cut is a mere four hours and actual breaks the movie down into a three part series not unlike godfather. The first follows the lives of their parents before the divorce and cancer in small industrial city. The second is hambone and nicole's early years as up to their breakup in seventh grade. The producers showed us the last but since prequels are so popular these days hopefully the earlier drive me crazy's will come out in the next few years. look for mary kate olsen to play a young nicole, not ashley >

Nicole Maris (Melissa Joan Hart) is the popular girl in school. Chase Hammond (Adrian Grenier) is the activist troublemaker. It's their senior year. The next door neighbors and former friends don't get along any more. The centennial of the school is coming up. She and her friends are planning the prom. He and his friends are causing mayhem. Nicole is rejected by clueless jock Brad in the traditional popular pairing in favor of true love for a cheerleader from another school. Chase is dumped by girlfriend Dulcie (Ali Larter) for an animal activist. Nicole comes up with a scheme to date Chase to make Brad jealous. Chase accepts it to make Dulcie jealous.

Hart and Grenier are photogenic early twenty somethings with plenty of charisma. They bring a nice appeal to this teen high school dramedy. Despite being best known for the popliscious Britney Spears song, it takes a couple of deep dives. It does leave the movie uneven in tone at times. This is nothing ground breaking but it's passable for the genre. The two leads make it work.

I went to this film expecting it to be just a formula teen film. It does have formula to it -- such as ending with the big dance -- but it actually has some interesting ideas too. It is about the images that people hide behind, the distortions that they manufacture to escape from painful reality.

One symbolic scene takes place in a carnival fun house with mirrors that twist and pull reflections into any shape the person wants. This of course is the metaphor for what is happening with all the characters. Another interesting bit of symbolism is the MTV-like video showing the zombie-like behavior of the high school in-crowd compared to images of animals and Nazi rallies.

Yes, it's a teen romantic comedy, but it actually has some real thought in it, and the talented cast play characters that show some depth. The film is a pleasant surprise.

I watched this movie on `Sky' after watching `TOMCATS' on video, so whether my judgement has been affected by that, maybe. As compared to Tomcats this film looked like an Oscar winner, but I must say I did actually really enjoy it in its own right.

Its typical teen comedy/drama in the same vein as `TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU' and `SHE'S ALL THAT' but if you like that kind of film then this will in no way disappoint you. Hart and Grenier play polar opposite next door neighbours who hook up as a sham couple to try and win back the attention of their dates, who dump them on the eve of the schools centenary bash. It doesn't take a genius to guess what happens but its all pretty harmless and a lot of fun. Well worth and hour and a half of your time.