CAN'T HARDLY WAIT (1998)
Label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 100 Minutes 29 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD), DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision (HDR10) 2160p Ultra HD (1.85:1)
Directors: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont
Cast: Ethan Embry, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Charlie
Korsmo,
During the late-90's teen movie cycle I was at the cinema with my wife watching most of them, Can't Hardly Wait (1998) was one of those, coming a year before American Pie, a night-in-the-life teen movie about a post-graduation party that is not to be missed. Awkward Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry, The Devil's Candy) hears at graduation that his longtime crush Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt, I Know What You Did Last Summer) has been dumped by her douche-nozzle boyfriend Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli, Supernova), opening the possibility of reigniting some connection he thinks they had freshman year, something have to do with bonding over a strawberry Pop Tart, oh brother. It's chock full of teen movie tropes and stereotypes but that's why we watch these sort of things anyway, isn't it? I was never one to obsess over Jennifer Love Hewitt the way a lot of guys did, she never did anything for me, though I found her character her quite likable as the popular girl who isn't vapid and awful. A few years after this film I was pretty obsessed with the red-head Lauren Ambrose during her tenure on the phenomenal HBO funeral home drama Six Feet Under, and Ethan Embry was probably the most recognizable face to me in this film at the time, as I was fan of his from appearances in Empire Records, Vegas Vacation and That Thing You Do. However, it was the hip-hop culture obsessed Kenny Fisher (played by Seth Green, It, Ticks) who steals the film. He's so funny, playing a character I think we all knew/know in our real lives, that one white guy who outright appropriates black culture to a ridiculous degree. Also making a notable appearance is Charlie Korsmo (What About Bob?) as the leader of a tri of X-Files obsessed nerds who attend the party hoping to ruin Mike's life in an ill-conceived Heathers-esque gay themed revenge, but manages to become one of the most popular kids at the party after performing a wild rendition of GNR's "Paradise City".
The young ensemble cast that populate this graduation kegger is deep and interesting, we also have appearances from Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as a watermelon munching stoner, Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead) as an enigmatic angel stripper, Jerry O'Connell (Joe's Apartment) as last year's graduate Trip McNeely, Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) as that one girl who insists on everyone signing her yearbook, Breckein Meyer (Grandma's Boy) and Donald Faison (Scrubs) as members of the band Love Burger, and cameos from Clea Duvall (The Faculty), Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl), Selma Blair (Hellboy), Freddie Rodriguez (Planet Terror), and Eric Balfour (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). It's quite a wonderful, full-bodied cast, and the film is an interesting time capsule of late-90s/early 00's young stars, fashions, and music of this late-90's era. Story wise its no great sakes, but I thought the characters were fun, the decidedly brief character arcs are shallow but enjoyable, and the humor, despite some cringeworthy moments that have aged rather poorly is more hit than miss.
Audio/Video: Can't Hardly wait (1998) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in 2160p Ultra HD widescreen (1.85:1) with Dolby Vision (HDR10) color-grading. It's easily the best the film has ever looked on home video, the source is immaculate, grain levels look natural, and the WCG color-grading looks terrific. The primaries shine like never before with deep black levels, the neon-signs in the background when Preston leaves the party to call a radio station really look wonderful. Close-ups of clothing and facial features export texture and detail quite nicely, and contrast is on point.
Audio comes by way of English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The track handles the dialogue, inner monologies, and sounds of teens partying nicely, the soundtrack featuring The Replacements, Blink-182, Parliament, Run-DMC, Missy Elliot, Guns N' Roses, and Matthew Sweet (among other 90's tracks I favor a bit less) sounds terrific with the Atmos remix.
Extras include 11 New Deleted & Alternate Scenes that run about 8-min, plus 7-min 6 Existing Deleted Scenes; the Original Audio Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast; another Audio Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast - 10 Years Later; the 27-min Huntington Hills High Class of '98 Reunion; 14-min Can't Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic; 9-min The Life of the Party; and of course the ubiquitous 3-min "I Can't Get Enough of You Baby" Music Video by Smash Mouth. Disc extras are finished-up with the 3-min Theatrical Trailer.
The single-disc 4K UHD release arrives in a standard black keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork with a
Slipcover featuring the same artwork as the wrap, and inside there's a redemption code for a Digital Copy of the film.
Special Features:
- 11 New Deleted & Alternate Scenes (7:30)
- 6 Existing Deleted Scenes (7:25)
- Original Audio Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast
- Audio Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast - 10 Years Later
- Huntington Hills High Class of '98 Reunion (26:43)
- Can't Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic (14:2)
- The Life of the Party (9:29)
- "I Can't Get Enough of You Baby" Music Video by Smash Mouth (2:50)
- Theatrical Trailer (2:33)
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
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