Rating: Summary: Drive Me Crazy Review: Very good movie. I love Melissa Joan Hart.
Rating: Summary: Buy a Clue Review: If you by any chance grew up in the eighties like me watching brat pack movies like Pretty In Pink and the Breakfast Club, you will love this movie. It is the best teen movie I have ever seen. Reviewers are trying too hard to make it into something its not. Of course its unrealistic. Hello. Since when are we anti-fantasy. 90210? Anyway, I went with three of my friends (all seniors in college) and we all agreed it was the best stuff of its kind that we've seen in ages. So rent it soon. The four of us have already made a date for the 14th to watch it.
Rating: Summary: Nothing special, but not bad Review: Melly Joan Hart is appealing in this teen flick; her French-looking sloppy boyfriend may be less so, but it works. Entertaining, a fairly honest high school fantasy. The final plot twist involving the parents is unnecessary and complicating.
Rating: Summary: AWESOME Review: I loved this movie and I think anybody who didn't just doesn't know a good movie when they see it. Mellisa Joan Hart is an okay actress, but Adrian is HOT. The movie really makes you see how being popular isn't always as good as it's made out to be. GOOD STUFF
Rating: Summary: Great Movie Review: I own this DVD, and it is a GREAT movie. It is a very awesome movie and the story line is such a good idea. The DVD has video's by Britney Spears, and other artists. The actors and actresses do such a good job in this film. If you are a fan of Melissa Joan Hart or Adrian Grenier or any of the other great actors, this is a MUST-HAVE!
Rating: Summary: A Lousy replica of 'She's All That' Review: Somewhat the same old boring plot. girl makes unpopular guy known and at the process falling in love. Just like the movie plot in 'she's all that' only duller. Mellisa Joan Hart has really overdone herself here. Adrian grenier looked good but he deserved a better movie plot and partner. Id give it a star for the cool clothes during the prom nite scene in the film.
Rating: Summary: Great movie! Review: I went and saw this movie on the first day it opened, it's a great movie and I think it's one of Melissa's best ever performances. I will be buying this DVD as soon as it is available, I can't wait for it. If you like Melissa, buy this DVD, you will love it.
Rating: Summary: Teenage crushes again! Review: Of course the characters are in high school, but that is what made the movie good. Similar to Can't Buy Me Love, where the popular girl transforms the geeky guy and introduces him to the "in crowd". His motive for giving in was slightly different than Can't Buy Me Love, but it moved in the same direction. His geeky friends were left behind for his new social life and in the end their ultimate plan backfires when they realize they have fallen for each other. Of course telling you how it ends doesn't spoil anything, since this movie was predictable, but it was fun watching them prograss to that point.If you like those cheesy, teeny bop movies, with high school crushes, jocks, popular kids and the nerds, then you'll love this movie. I did feel that Melissa Joan Hart has progressed beyond this type of moive and should move on to more adult plots and issues.
Rating: Summary: Not as bad as I expected Review: Isn't it funny how some films don't quite fit their stereotypes? I settled down to watch Drive Me Crazy because I was in the mood to watch a mindless teen movie, and given that this film stars Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina The Teen Witch fame, I was expecting really more of the same. It doesn't help that the beginning of the film reinforces the stereotype (complete with cheesy pop background music, neon-lit opening titles and slow pan across a typical teenage girl's bedroom followed by Melissa answering the phone in her best "a la Sabrina" perky voice).
What I encountered was a film that is still very much rooted in the teen "prom" genre, but is slightly deeper and sophisticated (as well as more ponderous and slow-moving) than I expected. It's quite a biting and penetrating observation of the high school social hierarchy as well as the conflicting emotions of young love. Think of it as a more serious version of Clueless with a dash of Dangerous Liaisons thrown in.
Nicole Maris (Melissa Joan Hart) is a pretty and popular girl at the Timothy Zonin High School (definitely in the "in" crowd) who is organising a big formal dance celebrating the centenary anniversary of her school. She has the hots for school basketball star Brad (Gabriel Carpenter) and hopes he will be her date for the dance.
Neighbour and fellow classmate Chase Hammon (Adrian Grenier) is on the other side of the school social stratum. Sporting a "rebel without a cause" attitude and a grungy appearance, he hangs out with nerdy Ray (Kris Park) and "Designated Dave" (Mark Webber) - the latter so-nicknamed because he doesn't drink therefore he always chauffeurs the other kids when they are blind drunk and want to go back home after a party. At the beginning of the film, the three of them (masterminded by Chase) stage a prank involving putting coloured dye into the school sprinkler system which nearly gets them suspended.
Incidentally, Nicole and Chase used to be childhood friends but then grew apart into their different ways. Both have single parents (William Converse-Roberts as Mr. Hammond and Faye Grant as Mrs. Maris) as Chase's mum died of cancer and Nicole's father (Stephen Collins) is estranged. Their parents appear to be very "friendly" with each other, and later on in the film we find out why.
So, when Brad - on the verge of asking Nicole to the centenary dance - falls in love with a cheerleader instead (when he accidentally fell on her during a basketball game), and Chase's girlfriend Dulcie (Ali Larter) dumps him because she thinks he's too shallow (because she is into animal rights and he doesn't seem to be interested), Nicole and Chase strike an unholy deal - they will pretend to be in a relationship with each other in an attempt to make their desired partners jealous.
Nicole gives Chase a Pygmalion-like makeover and suddenly it looks like their crazy plan may just succeed after all. Or will they fall in love with each other instead? And what about Nicole's best friend - acid-tongued Alicia (Susan May Pratt) - will she throw a spanner into the works?
The ending may be somewhat predictable, and yet the film as a whole seems to be more than the sum of its parts. The characters are reasonably fleshed out and have complex overtones to their personalities, and the dialogue is reasonably clever in places. However, overall I found the film to be somewhat slow-moving and uninvolving. The problem is, a romantic comedy with artistic pretensions can aspire to become a piece of serious drama, but an ambitious teen movie ends up looking awkward because - let's face it - what is the serious equivalent?
Incidentally, I think Melissa should really stop playing teen roles. She may still have the pert little body and a perky voice, but she is not as fresh-faced as she used to be and it would be nice to see her play her age for a change in a more substantial role.
Rating: Summary: Very shallow Review: Why did I buy this film? Cos it has a track by what used to be one of my fave bands for years on the soundtrack (Steps "One For Sorrow"), I was interested to see if Melissa Joan Hart can do any other character apart from Clarissa and Sabrina (I grew up with this girl, and she can't), and for the Britney video to "Drive Me Crazy". Otherwise, I have a penchant for these rom-coms set in high schools.
I grew up watching Melissa in kids TV, first on Clarissa and then on Sabrina. When you're young, you don't really notice the acting, but in this, you really do notice how bad she is. Like most TV actors trying to move into movies, they don't really try too hard to move away from the character they've been playing for years. She goes through the motions, and most of her laughter, and OTT-ness is fake.
Another thing is most of the time, these movies have drop-dead gorgeous stars. Adrian Grenier?! Who is he exactly? He's not good-looking - or he doesn't appeal to me - and he's just not right for that role.
Ali Larter appears in this, the girl with the ever-changing hair colour, and the film actually looked up by having her in it. She's a great actress, and with the wacky hair colouring (every shade of pink, red and purple you can think of) and styles. It's worthwhile getting this movie purely for her.
The extras aren't up to much, apart from the Britney video - I love that song. You've got the usual theatrical trailer, various TV spots, and two music videos.
There's nothing special about this teen rom-com. It's never properly explained why the two main characters gave up speaking to each "it's called junior high", or why they were too shallow to even bother to keep up the friendship. If you like this sort of thing, it's good, but the storyline is getting a bit old and tired now.
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