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Can't Hardly Wait
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
I'll admit it. I'm happy to admit it. I actually like "Can't Hardly Wait"; I think it's certainly the best of the teen films that have come out over the past few years and while that's not saying much, it does at least offer a highly entertaining 100 minutes. It's a sloppy film (the director & crew admit to a few mistakes in the commentary), and that actually works in the film's favor, creating at least a more "real" feel to the party, even if the characters are similar to the stereotypes that populate many of the other teen films out there.
Where most films focus on the life in high school, "Wait" focuses on the moments after - the graduation party for Huntington Hills high where every group of the school population seems to appear; the geeks who want to get revenge on the jocks, the party girls and just about every other group you could think of. All of it is strung together by a number of plot threads; some tie the movie together and some just go nowhere. The focus though, is one Preston Meyers(Ethan Embry), who has just found out the girl of his dreams, Amanda(Jennifer Love Hewitt) has been dumped by her jock boyfriend.
That thread is also the one that doesn't quite work the best, mainly because Hewitt's presence is, literally, limited. Better is the reunion of sorts with with Kenny (Seth Green) and Denise(Laura Ambrose), who friends who had grown apart over the years. Speaking of Green, his performance is easily the film's best - a perfect illustration of a gangster-wannabe that's frequently hilarious.
"Can't Hardly Wait" is goofy, charming and really seems to have a good idea of just what it is. It's not art, but it is an entertaining way to pass the time.
The DVD
VIDEO: The funniest thing about the image quality of "Can't Hardly Wait" is that most of the flaws in the picture quality are purely accidental. Sharpness is generally good throughout much of the picture, but as discussed in the commentary track, there are a few scenes where the picture accidentally went out of focus slightly. Detail is generally good, and clarity even in the dimly lit sequences is fine, as well.
Colors are excellent and well-saturated; the clothing that the kids wear provides a wealth of bright colors that look good, with no problems visible. As for actual problems, there are a few little marks on the print used towards the begining of the movie, but the rest of the film is clear and clean. A trace amount of pixelation is visible once or twice, but the overall presentation looks extremely good.
SOUND: Interestingly, "Can't Hardly Wait" is a film where the most creative sound use takes place during the opening credits, where voices from various characters talking about the upcoming events come from different speakers around the room. Even after that, "Can't Hardly Wait" still manages to be more impressive than the usual comedy soundtrack.
The scenes at the party actually gain from the soundtrack, which offers frequent surround use, with a combination of music and background sounds from the party such as people talking or other various noises. There are moments where the sound falls back into sort of a mono, dialogue-driven presence. Dialogue is natural and easily heard, and overall it's a fun soundtrack that shows off the music well.
MENUS:: The menus are fairly basic and don't have any animation; it would have been nice to have some of the film's music to be playing in the background.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from actor Seth Green, directors Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont and producer Jenno Topping. It's one of the more hilarious group commentaries out there, with the only problem being that Green decides that it would be a funny bit to use a British accent for much of the early portion of the discussion; it's not funny, and the rest of the group finally gets him to stop.
It's not particularly the most technical commentary, but it's a lot of fun to listen to the two rookie directors talking about their first experience on the film. Early on, they talk about being depressed after seeing their first dailies - throughout, they point out various little flaws and items that were cut out of the film for various reasons. They reveal that they had to go for a PG-13 rating, and it seems that many moments of the film (some of which are visible in the trailer) had to be lost.
There's many great moments throughout the track - during Love Hewitt's first appearance, Green remarks, "wasn't she in 'House Arrest'"? Later on, Green's work schedule is compared to Hewitt's during the production, and when hers seems tougher than his he adds, "...and I was pregnant!". Eventually, producer (and director of films like "28 Days") Betty Thomas appears on the track.
Also: The trailer (Dolby 5.1/1.85:1), photo gallery and Smashmouth music video for "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby".
Final Thoughts: Certainly not anything most adults will enjoy, teens will probably find much of "Can't Hardly Wait" funny - although I've recently fallen into my 20s, I still find much of the film to be entertaining. Tristar's DVD offers good audio/video and one of the funnier commentary tracks out there. Recommended.
I'll admit it. I'm happy to admit it. I actually like "Can't Hardly Wait"; I think it's certainly the best of the teen films that have come out over the past few years and while that's not saying much, it does at least offer a highly entertaining 100 minutes. It's a sloppy film (the director & crew admit to a few mistakes in the commentary), and that actually works in the film's favor, creating at least a more "real" feel to the party, even if the characters are similar to the stereotypes that populate many of the other teen films out there.
Where most films focus on the life in high school, "Wait" focuses on the moments after - the graduation party for Huntington Hills high where every group of the school population seems to appear; the geeks who want to get revenge on the jocks, the party girls and just about every other group you could think of. All of it is strung together by a number of plot threads; some tie the movie together and some just go nowhere. The focus though, is one Preston Meyers(Ethan Embry), who has just found out the girl of his dreams, Amanda(Jennifer Love Hewitt) has been dumped by her jock boyfriend.
That thread is also the one that doesn't quite work the best, mainly because Hewitt's presence is, literally, limited. Better is the reunion of sorts with with Kenny (Seth Green) and Denise(Laura Ambrose), who friends who had grown apart over the years. Speaking of Green, his performance is easily the film's best - a perfect illustration of a gangster-wannabe that's frequently hilarious.
"Can't Hardly Wait" is goofy, charming and really seems to have a good idea of just what it is. It's not art, but it is an entertaining way to pass the time.
The DVD
VIDEO: The funniest thing about the image quality of "Can't Hardly Wait" is that most of the flaws in the picture quality are purely accidental. Sharpness is generally good throughout much of the picture, but as discussed in the commentary track, there are a few scenes where the picture accidentally went out of focus slightly. Detail is generally good, and clarity even in the dimly lit sequences is fine, as well.
Colors are excellent and well-saturated; the clothing that the kids wear provides a wealth of bright colors that look good, with no problems visible. As for actual problems, there are a few little marks on the print used towards the begining of the movie, but the rest of the film is clear and clean. A trace amount of pixelation is visible once or twice, but the overall presentation looks extremely good.
SOUND: Interestingly, "Can't Hardly Wait" is a film where the most creative sound use takes place during the opening credits, where voices from various characters talking about the upcoming events come from different speakers around the room. Even after that, "Can't Hardly Wait" still manages to be more impressive than the usual comedy soundtrack.
The scenes at the party actually gain from the soundtrack, which offers frequent surround use, with a combination of music and background sounds from the party such as people talking or other various noises. There are moments where the sound falls back into sort of a mono, dialogue-driven presence. Dialogue is natural and easily heard, and overall it's a fun soundtrack that shows off the music well.
MENUS:: The menus are fairly basic and don't have any animation; it would have been nice to have some of the film's music to be playing in the background.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from actor Seth Green, directors Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont and producer Jenno Topping. It's one of the more hilarious group commentaries out there, with the only problem being that Green decides that it would be a funny bit to use a British accent for much of the early portion of the discussion; it's not funny, and the rest of the group finally gets him to stop.
It's not particularly the most technical commentary, but it's a lot of fun to listen to the two rookie directors talking about their first experience on the film. Early on, they talk about being depressed after seeing their first dailies - throughout, they point out various little flaws and items that were cut out of the film for various reasons. They reveal that they had to go for a PG-13 rating, and it seems that many moments of the film (some of which are visible in the trailer) had to be lost.
There's many great moments throughout the track - during Love Hewitt's first appearance, Green remarks, "wasn't she in 'House Arrest'"? Later on, Green's work schedule is compared to Hewitt's during the production, and when hers seems tougher than his he adds, "...and I was pregnant!". Eventually, producer (and director of films like "28 Days") Betty Thomas appears on the track.
Also: The trailer (Dolby 5.1/1.85:1), photo gallery and Smashmouth music video for "Can't Get Enough Of You Baby".
Final Thoughts: Certainly not anything most adults will enjoy, teens will probably find much of "Can't Hardly Wait" funny - although I've recently fallen into my 20s, I still find much of the film to be entertaining. Tristar's DVD offers good audio/video and one of the funnier commentary tracks out there. Recommended.
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