Can't Hardly Wait (4 Stars)

This is the fifth film in my high school marathon. But only just. It takes place over a 24 hour period that begins with the school graduation. Most of the film takes place at a party on the evening of graduation day.

The film, first released in 1998, has been criticised for its lack of originality, but I don't understand why people say that. Name one other film that takes place in the 24 hours after high school graduation. Just one, and then I'll be quiet. Until then I'll persist in saying that it's a highly original film.

The film is full of high school stereotypes. If you're an American watching the film you will probably recognise yourself, whether you were a nerd, a Mean Girl or a high school jock. However, the film concentrates on six characters who are introduced with the photos from the high school year book. The first is Mike Dexter, the captain of the football team and every other school team.

Amanda Beckett is the most beautiful girl in the school. She was also Mike's girlfriend for the last four years. She was the prom queen, and I assume that Mike was the prom king, but there weren't enough lines in the year book to list all his activities. Mike dumped Amanda the day before graduation. The reason was that he's going to college, and college girls are hotter than high school girls. Mike might have a lot of muscle, but he doesn't have much brain power. Hasn't it occurred to him that Amanda has left school and will possibly become a hot college girl?

Preston Meyers is a boy who's spent the last four years dreaming about Amanda. That's me. I would have spent four years idolising the most beautiful girl in the class with a mixture of love and lust. I would have pinned all her photos on the wall next to my bed and stared at them every night before going to sleep. There would be sexy photos in skimpy bikinis that I'd secretly snapped, maybe even upskirt photos from her cheerleader practise. Preston has heard about Mike breaking up with Amanda, and he thinks he finally has a chance.

Denise Fleming isn't as social as the other kids at the party. She's Preston's best friend, and he's persuaded her to go to the party to support him when he makes his move to get Amanda. She's not shy, but she doesn't care about the superficial activities of high school life. I doubt she even went to the prom.

William Lichter is the class nerd who's been bullied by Mike all through school. He sees the party as his last chance to take revenge. Together with two of his friends, he wants to chloroform Mike, strip him naked and take compromising photos of him with another boy.

Kenny Fisher is a horny young teenager who hides his insecurities behind an extroverted lifestyle. He's a still a virgin, but he doesn't admit it. He sees the party as a last chance to sleep with a high school girl. He's made a list of ten girls that he intends to chat up. One of them must say Yes, he thinks to himself. Interestingly, neither Amanda nor Denise is on his list. Amanda is way out of his league, and Denise is too plain.

Amanda Beckett would have been out of my league as well. She was played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, one of the most beautiful actresses who's ever lived. She was 18 at the time, beautiful then and still beautiful today. She's a talented actress who's never achieved the fame she deserves. She's best known for "I know what you did last summer", made a year earlier in 1997. It's sad when an actor is best known for a film made at the beginning of his career, but "I know what you did last summer" is a genuine masterpiece, one of my favourite films.

"Can't Hardly Wait" is a relatively unknown film, but it has its fans. Maybe it isn't popular enough to be called a cult film, but it may still reach that status one day.

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