Official Synopsis:
It’s graduation day at Huntington Hills High-- a time for Pomp and Circumstance, tassels and mortarboards, and serious introspection about the future. But tonight, the seniors will leave all that behind for the things that really matter; romance, revenge and rock ‘n’ roll. Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green and Jennifer Love Hewitt star in one raucous comedy about the ultimate teen party, a once-in-a-lifetime alternate universe where class nerds become class studs, super-jocks are humiliated, and freshman crushes blossom into grown-up romance. From prom queen to bimbo, meathead to misfit, everyone will be there for a hormone-charged bash tapped for out-of-control fun.

Our Take:
Never as popular as American Pie, Clueless or She’s All That, Can’t Hardly Wait is the epitome of the Great Teen Comedy. It’s easily the best film out of the aforementioned list, and it ranks as one of my favorite teen comedies of all time. It manages to be laugh-out-loud funny yet have heart, and present completely unrealistic situations in a believable and relatable way. It also helped launch the careers of a number of then-new and rising stars, including Seth Green, Peter Facinelli, Donald Faison, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Jaime Pressley.

But I can’t really say what it is about Can’t Hardly Wait that makes it so great. Is it the cast? The writing? The soundtrack? All of the above? It’s really hard to put a finger on it. Like its brethren-in-spirit, Empire Records, Can’t Hardly Wait just works. It’s funny and cute and romantic and hopeful, and I think it’s the kind of film that teenagers will obviously love, while adults who remember what it’s like to be teenagers should love as well.

Can’t Hardly Wait: 10 Year Reunion Edition gives us substantial extra features for the first time in the film’s home video history. Yay!

* Original Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast
* NEW! Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast 10 Years Later - Includes Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, Seth Green, Donald Faison, Joel McHaley, and Peter Facinelli.
* NEW! Huntington High Class of ‘98 Reunion (27 minutes) –-The cast reunites to discuss their characters in the movie, how they were cast and how the movie has affected them 10 years later.
* NEW! Can’t Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic (14 minutes) - The cast, crew, and filmmakers share fun anecdotes from the set.
* NEW! The Life of the Party – Directors/Writers Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan and the cast talk about what it takes to make a good party and it what it means to the teen movie
* Deleted Scenes (7 minutes)
* “Can’t Get Enough Of You Baby” Music Video by Smash Mouth
* Special K’s 411 Track Yo' – A text trivia track.

I wouldn’t say that Can’t Hardly Wait has full-blown cult classic status, but I do know that most people who have seen this film feel the same way I do about it. I’m very excited to finally get a good version of the movie on video, and I’m doubly so to have it on Blu-ray.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Overall Picture:
Movie: A
DVD: A-

- Mike Spring

Editor