| Can't Hardly Wait | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Deborah Kaplan Harry Elfont |
| Produced by | Betty Thomas |
| Written by | Deborah Kaplan Harry Elfont |
| Starring | Ethan Embry Charlie Korsmo Lauren Ambrose Peter Facinelli Seth Green Jennifer Love Hewitt |
| Music by | David Kitay |
| Cinematography | Lloyd Ahern |
| Editing by | Michael Jablow |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | June 12, 1998 |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million |
| Box office | $25,605,015 |
Can't Hardly Wait is a 1998 American teen comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt, and is notable for a number of "before-they-were-famous" appearances by various teen stars of the era.
The movie takes place at a high school graduation party, and in a style much like that of the high school movies of the 1980s. The filmmakers were inspired to make the movie because they felt that in most teen films the best scenes were the party scenes. Therefore, they decided to make a movie that was set entirely at a party. Though the film deals in common high school stereotypes, some favor the film's chaotic but appealing mise en scène and performances.
The movie was named after The Replacements' song of the same title, from their 1987 album Pleased to Meet Me. The song plays at the end of the movie, when the credits start rolling.
This movie ranked number 44 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.[1]
Contents |
The film revolves around an eclectic group of students from Pennsylvania attending a high school graduation party at a large house owned by a rich class member's family. Each character has different plans for the night. Optimistic misfit Preston Myers (Ethan Embry) plans to proclaim his love to his four-year secret crush, to whom he has never had the nerve to speak before, prom queen Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who in turn has recently been dumped by her top jock boyfriend, Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli) who is targeted by nerd classmate William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo), who is plotting revenge against Mike for years of bullying in school.
Cynical Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose) has no intention of going to the party. But when her best friend, Preston, says he is going to proclaim his love for Amanda, she is dragged along. Kenny Fisher (Seth Green) is a conspicuously unskilled aspiring rapper who plans on losing his virginity by the end of the night. When he goes into the upstairs bathroom to "get ready", Denise happens to walk in. That is when the two learn that the door has a broken doorknob, trapping them in the bathroom. The pair of former friends begin talking about how they drifted apart; their conversation eventually leads to the restoration of their friendship and then escalates into them having sex in the bathroom.
During the course of the party, Amanda deals with being alternately consoled by the drunken girlfriends of Mike's jock friends and her own cousin (who tries to hit on her), and trying to figure out if she truly has an identity past being known as "Mike Dexter's girlfriend". At one point during the night, she discovers a letter addressed to her. Unbeknownst to her, the letter was written by Preston, and after reading and subsequently being moved by its contents, she makes it her mission to find him.
Before the party, Mike convinces his fellow jock friends to follow his lead and dump their girlfriends in order to make a pact in which they all pledge to remain single as they go to college. Later on, an intoxicated Mike learns from a guy named Trip McNeely (Jerry O'Connell in a cameo) - a graduate and former stud from his high school - that in college, jerks like them are "a dime a dozen" and ironically, find themselves on the receiving end of bullying. This reality is even driven in further by the fact that Trip emphasizes how he dumped his girlfriend in the same fashion that Mike did to score with women which was unsuccessful. Terrified, Mike tries to get Amanda back, but she replies that she is happier without him and humiliates him in front of everyone at the party.
At the same time, William devises his plan to get revenge on Mike by humiliating him. He has his two even more nerdy, X-Files-obsessed friends wait on the roof, while he goes into the party to drive Mike out. However, while inside the party, William begins drinking alcohol in order to fit in. After a while, he drinks enough to make him forget what he was originally doing there and then an impromptu sing-along to Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City" causes him to become popular for the evening. William begins talking with Mike, and Mike apologizes for tripping him earlier in the day at the graduation ceremony while William was giving the valedictorian speech. William forgives him, and the two of them seemingly become friends. When Mike and William are jailed as a result of a police bust, Mike takes the blame, saying that he forced William into drinking. However, the next morning when William sees Mike and some of his friends at a local diner, he tries to thank Mike for taking the fall. But Mike acts as though he remembers nothing of what happened the previous night and proceeds to ridicule him in front of his friends. William, feeling the sting of betrayal, leaves dejected while Mike laughs with his friends.
Meanwhile, Preston eventually finds Amanda and confesses his love; however, she assumes he is just another drunk pervert and rejects him. She later finds a yearbook, sees his picture, and realizes her mistake. She tries to find Preston again, but he has already driven home. The next morning, Preston is at a railway station, about to leave on a train. Amanda visits Preston at the station where she asks him about the letter. Preston confesses he wrote it and that he is about to depart for a pre-college writing workshop with Kurt Vonnegut. The two regretfully say their goodbyes; but soon after, Preston stops and runs back to Amanda, and they kiss.
As the film ends, the characters' fates are revealed:
Small Part Appearances from soon-to-be famous actors include, but are not limited to:
Can't Hardly Wait was released on June 12, 1998 and grossed $8,025,910 in its opening weekend.[3] Its total domestic gross was $25,605,015, which was more than double its budget.
The film has a 44% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[4]
The movie was re-released in 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the film. The new DVD contained special features not included on the original release.
Songs featured on the soundtrack:
Songs featured in the movie but are not on the soundtrack include:
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