Classic high school teen comedy Can’t Hardly Wait is now available for audiences to bring the film home on 4K Ultra HD.

It’s a missed opportunity that Sony Pictures didn’t give the film a 4K UHD release last summer for the 25th anniversary. Better late than never, I suppose. In any event, it’s never too late to introduce the film to a new generation of filmgoers. Obviously, there are aspects about this film that do not age well but this is the difference between the 1990s and the 2020s. For instance, the portrayal of Kenny Fisher (Seth Green) is not something you could do today. This is just one instance, of course, about how the film doesn’t age well. It’s still entertaining–don’t get me wrong–but there are just things that you can’t put in a teen comedy today.

You can argue that Can’t Hardly Wait did well at the box office, maybe even call it a mediocre success. It wasn’t a massive blockbuster success but it doubled its budget. Jennifer Love Hewitt was the biggest box office draw at the time. Seth Green had been around at the time but mostly in character type roles. Most of the people appearing in the film were before-they-were-famous. Melissa Joan Hart and Selma Blair appear in small roles. Jason Segel is blink-and-miss-it a year before he would get his big break in Freaks and Geeks. The Klepto Kid in the background is none other than the Sherminator himself, Chris Owen.

A number of teen comedies are set during prom or graduation and almost always include a party. Even in recent years, the trend is still alive with films like Blockers and Booksmart. Anyway, Huntington Hills High’s Class of 1998 is graduating from high school. There’s a big party at Molly Stinson’s (Michelle Brookhurst) house. However, the biggest news is that Amanda Beckett (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is newly single, having broken up with Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli). Knowing this, Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry) plans to reveal his feelings to the girl he fell in love with at first sight. But as is the case with any comedy, things do not go according to plan. And then you have nerd William Lichter (Charlie Korsmo) become something of a superstar. Meanwhile, Denise Fleming (Lauren Ambrose) gets stuck in the restroom with Kenny when the doorknob falls off!

Like I said, a number of teen comedies feature some of the same plots–Amanda’s introduction as she walks in the door is recycled in Not Another Teen Movie. It’s what filmmakers and cast do with those plots that help set it apart from other films. American Pie came out a year later but the films deal with high school teenagers in what feels like different ways. Interestingly, it was the second original script written by filmmakers Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Not all of the characters interact with each other in the film. However, a number of them do interact in a way that serves the story–some more hysterical than others. Still though, actors not working on a given day still wanted to show up on set because it was “party central.”

In another universe, Breckin Meyer would have played Kenny Fisher as the filmmakers had written the role with him in mind. While Breckin is still in the film, there were scheduling conflicts that prevented him from taking the larger role. As such, Breckin suggested Seth Green. The rest is history.

Can’t Hardly Wait is the type of classic teen comedy that has everything. Sure, it doesn’t age well by today’s standards but that doesn’t stop audiences from watching the film for the nostalgia. It was just a different time in our lives.

Bonus Features

• 11 New Deleted & Alternate Scenes
• 6 Existing Deleted Scenes
• Original Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast
• Commentary with Filmmakers and Cast – 10 Years Later
• Huntington Hills High Class of ’98 Reunion
• Can’t Hardly Wait: The Making of a Teen Classic
• The Life of the Party
• “I Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” Music Video by Smash Mouth
• Theatrical Trailer

DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS: Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont
CAST: Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt

Sony Pictures released Can’t Hardly Wait in theaters on June 12, 1998. Grade: 3.5/5

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