Drive Me Crazy (1999) *1/2 out of *****
Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Adrien Grenier, Stephen Collins, Faye Grant Written by: Rob Thomas Based on the novel "How I Created My Perfect Prom Date" written by: Todd Strasser Directed by: John Schultz Running Time: 91 minutes
The Law of Crowd Pleasing Romantic Movies states that the two leads must end up together by film's end. If you're not familiar with this law, then maybe you've seen the trailer for this film which SHOWS that the two leads are together by film's end. Now if you're a regular reader of mine, you've heard me say this countless times: You know how Drive Me Crazy is going to end, but is the journey to get to that ending worth it? No, it definitely is not.
Melissa Joan Hart (from ABC's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") likes a hunky stud on the basketball team. Adrien Grenier is her grungy neighbor who's just broken up with his activist girlfriend. Apparently he wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous enough to take him back, and she wants someone to take her to the big year end dance. So the two pretend to date for some reason, but only after Hart gives Grenier a bath to turn him into a hunky stud. Will Grenier like his new popularity and turn on his friends? Will this crazy scheme work? Do I care?
The teen comedy resurgence of late has been surprisingly good in terms of comedy. What makes movies like Can't Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate About You work (and to a lesser extent, She's All That and Never Been Kissed)is because the writers of those films seem to realize that high school is a joke and write their scripts accordingly. I don't know what the writer's intention was with Drive Me Crazy. There was some smart comedy in those films to make the obvious endings worth getting to. Here there's nothing... just teens whining about who's going to take them to the big dance. Do me a favor kids, go get a job or something... just shut the hell up.
In all honesty, the best part of this film is the end credits. Now normally when I say that it's followed with the joke "...because the movie is finally over." In this case though the end credits really are the most entertaining part of the film. After the obligatory second playing of Britney Spears' titular song, there's a quick commercial jingle for a burger joint the kids in the film hang out in and a brief rendition of the school song for their high school. Nothing great, but more entertaining than anything in the 90 minutes which preceded them.
Sci-fi fans take note: there are brief appearances from Stephen Collins (Star Trek:The Motion Picture) and Faye Grant (the TV miniseries "V" and "V:The Final Battle"). [PG-13]
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