Ya no puedo esperar

I am a product of the 80's slasher film and the teenage film generation. Films in the 80's like Fast Times, Wild Life, Revenge of the Nerds and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and such, were films that may not have been classics to the critics, but to a fifteen year old boy, they were our Citizen Kane. They taught us how to pick up women, how to attempt to have sex, how to skip school and why to skip school. They taught us that parents and adults really don't understand us and that kids really aren't that bad, we just want to have a bit of fun before life gets too serious. We have all been through emotions and experiences like the ones that those movies preach about, so it is easy for us to relate to what those films are trying to say. And it makes it that much more fun to relive those experiences ten years later. Can't Hardly Wait is the closest to an 80's teen film that I have seen in quite some time. Compared to films like the aforementioned Never Been Kissed and even She's All That, this movie is a classic.

The film was written and directed by Harry Elfont and Debra Kaplan, and if they are not about my age ( late 20's ) they certainly are lovers of 80's teen films, because it shows here that they did their homework. Some of the scenes in this film are complete homages to great 80's films like Sixteen Candles ( the two geeks on the roof ) Wild Life ( a huge party where some of the characters grow up and learn a bit about themselves and each other) and even Say Anything ( a not so popular guy in love with the school hotty.) It seems to me that Harry and Debra are lovers of the films that made growing up in the eighties so much fun.

The story is about a party on the day of the completion of exams. Here we meet all the major players in the film. And yes, they are all contrived, but that is what a film like this is about. They were not trying to re-invent the wheel here, they were trying to stick to a formula that made so many movies work. You have Amanda Beckett ( Hewitt ), the prom queen that just got broken up with by the star jock named Mike Dexter ( played with so much zeal by Peter Facinelli, look for him to have a future in Hollywood ). Then you have Preston ( Ethan Embry ) who is not necessarily a geek but he is far from a popular jock, think of Dawson. Anyway, he has loved Amanda for all of highschool and now he is finally getting the guts to tell her of his undying passion for her. You also have William Lichter, who is the school geek that comes of age in the party. He does all the things that you would expect a typically written geek in a film to do--- get drunk, have a public display of wildness that gets people to see him in a new light, and of course, in here it is his karaoking to Paradise City ( which is one of the film's funnier scenes ) and of course get laid. As I said, this movie sticks to a very popular formula. Don't look for a film like this to say new and something profound about today's youth. This movie is here to entertain and that is it. And it does that well.

Also you have Kenny Fischer ( Seth Green ) as a very white guy who thinks he is black to cover up his insecurities, and his friend from public school named Denise. Needless to say many issues are going to be raised at the party and some of them are hilarious.

A great cameo is turned in by Jerry O'Connell who plays Trip McNeely ( the ultimate jock name ). He was idolized by all the cool kids when he went to their high school. Now he is in university and according to him , in a converstion with Mike Dexter, he tells him that " guys like me and you bro are a dime a dozen. Chicks are a lot different in college. They care about the environment and things and they all date guys that are in pre-med. " It is a very funny scene.

What makes this movie so much fun to watch is that it is reminiscent of an 80's film. And that is the highest compliment that I can give it. Because, just like they don't know how to make movies like Halloween and Nightmare On Elm Street anymore, they sure as hell don't know how to make films like Breakfast Club, The Sure Thing and Secret Admirer. But this film comes really close to being like those. And if you remember those ones as films that were some of your favorites when you were sixteen, see this, it will make you laugh and entertain you, and that is an accomplishment on its own.

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.

Gotta love the awesome 90s vibes and all star cast. There isn't a plot, but it doesn't really matter. Just one raucous house party with hilarious antics and a warm fuzzy ending.

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.

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.