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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 6411
Released: December 22, 1998 |
| Our Price: $5.49 |
| Used Price: $1.39 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
A comedy about six teenagers on the night of their high school graduation. Preston, a young man who decides that on graduation day, just before he leaves town, he will proclaim his love for Denise, whom he has pined for from afar for the past four years.
Description of Can't Hardly Wait:
This underrated teen comedy from 1998 is guilty of being a proud underachiever, and it doesn't bring anything new to the genre, but look closely and you'll find the makings of a much better movie buried under all the keg-party antics. The basic story is typical for this kind of comedy. A young, aspiring writer named Preston (Ethan Embry) has been lusting after class beauty Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt, from TV's Party of Five) for four years of high school, but he's never had the nerve to tell her. Now that they're about to graduate he's finally worked up the courage to write her a soul-baring love letter. At the raucous graduation keg party that takes up most of the movie's 98 minutes, Preston agonizes while Amanda's selfish jock ex-boyfriend tries to win her back, and delivering his love letter turns out to be more difficult than he ever imagined. What's interesting about Can't Hardly Wait has little to do with its attractive leads, however. The most engagingly real and entertaining characters are the misfits who show up in the subplots, including a geek (Charlie Korsmo) who turns into the life of the party, and a pair of old friends (Seth Green, Lauren Ambrose) who confront each other about their mutual needs and insecurities. There are some really good scenes between these two, and this modest movie has a few other pleasant surprises up its sleeve. That doesn't make it particularly good, but it does make it an agreeable waste of time. --Jeff Shannon
Can't Hardly Wait Reviews:
Do they serve an orthopedic function? 
2009-09-28 - The writing and directing team of Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (Josie and the Pussycats) met at film school and discovered that their respective parents were friends and they had both gone to High School at the same time in Philadelphia, just a few miles apart from each other. When Harry met Deborah would make a great movie, but maybe it already has, it was just called "Can't Hardly Wait." If they had just gone to the same High School, instead of two nearby ones, they could have been Amanda Beckett and Preston Meyers (I'm betting this is from Harry's perspective) or Kenny Fisher and Denise Fleming (Deborah's, anyone?).
Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry) fell in love with Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt) the first moment he saw her. It was fate that threw them together, because they were both eating strawberry Pop-Tarts. Who can deny that the strawberry Pop-Tarts were an omen?
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Preston: [narrating] It was October, freshman year. First time in history that I'd ever missed the bus. If I had arrived on time, I never would've seen her. But as it was, I was the first person at Huntington Hills High to set eyes on Amanda Beckett. It was her first day at school. Then, I'm sitting in class enjoying a late breakfast when out of all the classrooms in the entire school, she walks into mine. And where does the teacher sit her? Right next to me! Now, up until now, one could write this off to coincidence. But then she reaches in her bag and pulls out a strawberry Pop-Tart - the very same breakfast pastry I was consuming at that moment! What was I to do? How was I to proceed?
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How was he to proceed, indeed? Preston's head was in the clouds; but by the time he cleared his thoughts Amanda had already been snatched up by Mike (Peter Facinelli), a shallow and conceited jock. Nevertheless, Preston believes in the portentous strawberry Pop-Tarts, and pours his feelings into a letter to Amanda that he constantly revises. As further evidence that he and Amanda are meant to be together he hears "Mandy" by Barry Manilow on the radio just as he is going to the graduation party. A party where Amanda will be in attendance, having just broken up with Mike. Mandy, short for Amanda -- could anything be more fortuitous?
Preston asks his friend, Denise Fleming, what she thinks of the signs, fate, and the latest revision of his letter to Amanda. Denise is skeptical. She is the clever red headed outsider, rolling her eyes at the High School hijinks, while secretly wishing that she could be popular. Maybe she'd like to be more than friends with Preston, too, but all he thinks about is Amanda, 24/7. "What am I, chopped liver?" Denise probably asks herself.
Meanwhile, Kenny Fisher thinks he is tres cool, but while he emulates the speech and fashion of Afro Americans, on him it just looks comical. It didn't work for Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "Havoc," either.
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Denise: There's a mirror right there. Take a look, you're white.
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So now you get the gist of "Can't Hardly Wait." It is about a big party right after High School graduation, where Freaks, Geeks, Jocks, and Frocks all frolic, some with hidden agendas, and some with agendas not hidden at all, completely and totally blatant. If you were persecuted in High School, perhaps you can relate. The script very much favors the clever misfits, and forecasts the day when the smart will finally prevail. Hard to believe that will ever happen to geeks like this, but it makes for a nice wishful fantasy.
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X-Phile 1: You know what? My retainer looks like a Klingon warship.
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"Can't Hardly Wait" is very well written, and juggles the multiple story balls well. The direction was none too shabby, either. With Harry and Deborah, you get two points of view for the price of one. There are many Rashomon moments. Raging High School kegger that careens out of control? Tres cliche. But "Can't Hardly Wait" rises above the triteness of the material. There are tons of actors and actresses here who will go on to greater fame, and others who are headed for oblivion -- or television. It is fun just to watch the falling or shooting stars.
Jennifer Love Hewitt is really cute. Wow. She's acutely cute. Excrutiatingly cute also were Nicole Bilderback and Tamala Jones. Lauren Ambrose gave a very nuanced performance as Denise Fleming. Seth Green took many chances as Kenny Fisher, but I'm not sure that the chances he took paid off. He should get points for enthusiasm. Lose the goggles, though.
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Kenny Fisher: Why y'all gotta waste my flava?
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I Love You, Man (2009) Jason Segel was Sydney Fife; and Jaime Pressly was Denise
Party Monster (2003) Seth Green was James St. James
Josie and The Pussycats (2001) Written & Directed by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan; Seth Green was Travis - Du Jour; and Breckin Meyer was Marco - Du Jour
Heartbreakers (2001) Jennifer Love Hewitt was Page Conners
Bring It On (Widescreen Collector's Edition) (2000) Nicole Bilderback was Whitney
Cruel Intentions (1999) Selma Blair was Cecile Caldwell
The Ed Wood Collection - A Salute to Incompetence I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998) Summer Phoenix was Bartender#2/Girl at the Beach
Booty Call (1997) Tamala Jones was Nikki
That Thing You Do! (1996) Ethan Embry was T. B. Player; and Liv Tyler was Faye Dolan
Foxfire (1996) Peter Facinelli was Ethan Bixby
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Kenny Fisher: Those shoes!
Denise: What?
Kenny Fisher: Do they serve an orthopedic function?
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Still fun after all these years 
2009-08-02 - Every 7-10 years, there's a teen comedy that might not be particularly brilliant but is very enjoyable and works just a little harder at winning your affection. The characters are slightly more real than their stereotypes even if the storyline is pretty standard. It makes you wish that the lazy screenwriters of other high school movies would actually put in the same miniscule effort. Usually you know which movie it is by the fact that you know many of the actors from later material. In the early 80s, the movie was Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Widescreen Special Edition) (which the AV Club has called Hollywood's Yearbook). In the early 90s, it was Dazed & Confused (Widescreen Flashback Edition) and in 1998, it was this one.
Even though the characters are very standard - the white kid that acts black, the serious girl, the teen queen, the evil jock, the nerd, the stoner (although the unfortunate decision to make this PG-13 ran up against the draconian MPAA's iron fist so the stoners must pretend otherwise as if this is the Golden Age of Censorship) - the actors playing them get more leverage out of them and the script lets them be more than their roles. Peter Farinelli's evil jock character is capable of sweetness if only when wasted. Charlie Korsmo as the nerd that loosens up is almost believeable as both the nerd and the nerd that everyone wants to make out with. Seth Green broke out of his Buffy rut and went all out for a character that could have been just a joke. The main character wanting to get with Jennifer Love Hewitt is boring, but when has the main plot in these ensemble teen movies ever been fun? (Was there even a main plot in Dazed & COnfused? I think the football player refusing to sign the drug statement counts)
And what's even more fun from the 10 year anniversary perspective is the presence of actors that you know and like in supporting roles. You get Amber Benson as banana girl, Jason Siegal lovingly eating a watermelon (and 11 years later that seems to be his main acting choice on How I Met Your Mother: Season Four - but it's still funny) and Donald Faison as the drummer that wants to wear the cowboy hat.
The original commentary track is pretty standard (Seth Green's fake British accent is annoying and I'm happy that they stop it 15 minutes in) but the 10 year anniversary track is one of those drinking commentary tracks that people just love. And it's completely appropriate and worth the price.
All in all, this is one of those movies that's consistently enjoyable. Not too deep but invested enough in its characters to overcome the cliches of the genre. And the 10 year commentary puts everything into perspective, as this is the movie that makes viewers feel like they are coming back home to see old friends.
My Favorite Movie... For Real
2008-12-01 - When I tell people that this is my favorite movie they usually think Im joking. For some reason this movie has remained at the top of my list my whole life. Just looking at the number of high reviews on amazon made me smile because so many people see the beauty in this film. Its simple, funny and not over the top. Its also under the radar and not overly cliche. I even named my dog Mandy ten years ago after I was inspired by Preston's love for Amanda and the hilarious Barry Manilow reference. Hahaha maybe its corny, but Im never backing down from my #1 billing of "Cant Hardly Wait."
The Best Kind of Nostalgia
2008-11-29 - Can't Hardly Wait is a great teen ensemble comedy that holds up 10 years later. The movie is worth owning on its own, but it also comes with the original commentary, a new commentary, and a trivia track. If this is a genre that you like, this movie should be perfect for you. It's also fun to see the cast (including the extras) and try to figure what they went on to do with their careers.
A Cult Classic Finally gets a special edition
2008-07-23 - Ethan Embry and Jennifer Love Hewitt star in this teen comedy originally released in 1998 and now finally 10 years later we are getting a special edition DVD. So what can you expect from the 10 Year Reunion Edition DVD of Can't Hardly Wait? Well Extras will include:
* an original commentary with filmmakers and cast (no big deal as this was on the original DVD release)
* a commentary with filmmakers and cast - 10 Years Later
* Featurette "Huntington High Class of `98" Reunion
* Featurette "Can't Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic"
* Featurette "The Life of the Party"
* exclusive deleted scenes (at last)
* A You Know You're `90's If..." trivia game
* and the "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby" Smashmouth music video (which was also on the original release)
All in all it has the makings to be great. I am just happy this amazing movie is finally getting the attention it deserves!
