Can’t Hardly Wait

Summary

“Nobody drink the beer, the beer has gone bad!”

1998 was a hell of a year for teenage movies. The Faculty, Pleasantville, Disturbing Behavior, Wild Things, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legends, Halloween H20, Can’t Hardly Wait, and my favorite comedy of all time – Rushmore – were all released that year. I can tell you from experience, that it was an amazing time to be a teenager. It is pretty easy to argue that we did not know just how good we had it. For example, I remember that we all liked Can’t Hardly Wait much more than we had anticipated given that it was a Jennifer Love Hewitt star vehicle and was only rated PG-13, but it did not have the same impact as when my friends and I watched Dazed and Confused repeatedly on VHS. Now that a quarter century has passed, Sony has given Can’t Hardly Wait a welcome 4K UHD upgrade so that the film can be reevaluated on its own merits again. I sat down with my wife and two boys (my oldest son is fifteen,) and we watched the picture the other night. 

The graduating class of Huntington Hillside High School all plan to attend a party held by a rich classmate. Before the party, jock Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli) breaks up with the most popular girl in school, Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt.) Mike wants to have an amazing time dating as many girls as he can, and he expects his group of friends to do the same. His whole friend group agrees to the plan to end things with their girlfriends that day. Meanwhile, a less popular student named Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry) finds out about Amanda’s new relationship status. He pens her a letter with all of his deepest feelings that he has held back from telling her for years. He hopes that he can get the note to her at the party, because he leaves the next day for a prestigious writing seminar he has been accepted into. Preston is encouraged by his friend Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose,) who is not very popular and not really sure why she is even going to the party. Meanwhile, nerd William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo) plans with his friends to enact revenge on Mike Dexter that night to make up for all the bullying they had recieved at his hands. He hopes to lure Mike outside so his friends can dump paint all over him. Kenny Fisher (Seth Green,) who talks like the rappers he idolizes, has one goal for that evening: he has a backpack full of condoms and he hopes to have sex. The party brings all the key characters together for a wild night full of surprises.

Can’t Hardly Wait was critically received moderately well, but if you look back through those reviews there is always a tone of condescension. I think that during that time, we were just extremely spoiled with a wealth of well made entertainment. In the years since Can’t Hardly Wait, there have not been as many films in the John Hughes/teenagers-attend-party template. With the exception of the brilliant take on that genre Superbad, and the first couple American Pie films, the genre has shriveled up in the last couple decades. More so than Superbad or American Pie, Can’t Hardly Wait was geared towards more innocent viewers with its PG-13 rating. Is the film ostensibly about a bunch of kids who want to party and potentially get laid? Sure, but it is also about a shy kid who wants to innocently let the girl of his dreams know that he has been in love with her for years. There is a certain romanticism there. The kids in Can’t Hardly Wait are not as “cool” as some of the other teenage party films, and so they are all allowed to have unique personalities and quirks. Even characters that may seem obnoxious at first glance are given the chance to evolve. Screenwriters/co-directors Deborah Kaplan and Henry Elfont definitely draw inspiration from Sixteen Candles and other Hughes films. The film feels witten specifically for the teens of the late Nineties as written by people who grew up on Hughes pictures in the Eighties. To me, that is a compliment. The script is refreshingly sweet, at times very funny, and it is all completely harmless. There is some discussion of sex, but the film is never exploitative.

The cast of the picture is a solid ensemble. When I think of this movie, I immediately think of Seth Green as a slang speaking sex-obsessed virgin with goggles on his head and a backpack of condoms. He is hilarious in the movie. Charlie Korsmo, who is best remembered for Hook, What About Bob?, and Dick Tracy as a child actor, emerges as a nerd who gets a taste of popularity for the first time while accidentally becoming drunk. He manages to steal every scene he is in and absolutely nails a moment where his character performs a Guns N’ Roses song. Peter Facinelli plays the popular jock Mike Dexter with the proper amount of arrogance. He nails the role. Lauren Ambrose is likable and believable as the less popular Denise. Ethan Embry is a great fit for the role of the lovestruck and tongue tied Preston. Jennifer Love Hewitt does well as Amanda, even if her role seems to have the least dialogue of any character in the film. Bit parts are carried out well by Jerry O’Connell, Donald Faison, Jaime Presley, and Chris Owen. Even Jason Segel has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in the movie. 

The soundtrack of the picture is a blast and a true time capsule. Songs by Smashmouth, Eve 6, Busta Rhymes, Sneaker Pimps, White Zombie, Soul Coughing, G. Love and the Special Sauce, Third Eye Blind and many more will definitely bring back memories for anyone who lived in the Nineties. The credits feature the fantastic song by the Replacements which gave the picture its name.

Overall – I had a great time revisiting Can’t Hardly Wait. It’s much more clever and sweet than the average teen comedy. Sony’s new 4K release is well worth checking out.

Video

The new 4K HEVC/H.265 transfer from Sony Pictures looks reference quality. Sony did a scan of the original camera negatives for this release and the resulting transfer brings out the very best from the elements. Fine detail is very good. Colors are convincing and the HDR is subtle. The 4K UHD is a big leap forward from the 2008 Blu-ray release. Fans will be happy.

Audio

Sony have provided a great sounding Dolby Atmos track for this release. This movie is named after a great Replacements song, and music is very important for a film that takes place at a house party. Fans of the picture will be elated that Sony decided to really give this track a boost instead of simply resting on their laurels.

Supplements:

• Two Audio Commentaries with the Filmmakers and Cast
• 10 Years Later Alternate & Deleted Scenes
• Huntington Hills High Class of ’98 Reunion
• Can’t Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic
• Six Archival Deleted Scenes 
• The Life of the Party Featurette
• “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” Smash Mouth Music Video
• Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores: 

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Can’t Hardly Wait was very well received by my teenage friends and myself when it came out in 1998, but we were so spoiled by teenage comedies and dramas at that time that it didn’t necessarily feel special or even extremely memorable. With a quarter century in the rear view mirror, the picture has aged really well. There is a sense of sweetness to the proceedings in the picture that feels fresh now. The soundtrack will appeal to nostalgic memories of that time, and the cast is great. My family had a great time revisiting the movie, and I think people who have not watched it in a quarter century will find its wide-eyed innocent and romantic ideas refreshing. Teenage comedies in the John Hughes mold are not very often well made, and this was one of the better ones of that era. Fans of the picture will be happy to know that the 4K transfer is essentially reference quality and the new Dolby Atmos track brings out the very best of the soundtrack. I was also surprised at the amount of engaging featurettes were included. Recommended!