Can't Hardly Wait

PG-13

Released Jun 12, 1998

1 hr. 38 min.

Comedy

TRAILER

for Can't Hardly Wait: Trailer 1

List

40%

62 Reviews

Tomatometer

63%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

School's out, and an entire graduating class -- from football stars and cool girls to complete nerds -- gathers at a wealthy classmate's home for a party. There, the artistic Preston (Ethan Embry) hopes to move in on Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the beauty he has admired from afar for years. Dorky William (Charlie Korsmo) schemes to pay back meathead Mike (Peter Facinelli) for years of bullying, and would-be rapper Kenny (Seth Green) gets locked in a room with snarky Denise (Lauren Ambrose).

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Critics Consensus

Occasionally clever and moderately intelligent, Can't Hardly Wait also contains too many cheap laughs, recycled plotting, and flat characters.

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Lukas K

Don't go watch this movie with big expectations, just enjoy, it's fun!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/24

Full Review

Cfunk D

It's a funny movie. Typical high school graduation party. All the little cliques and mindset that what happens in highschool is so important.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

11/19/23

Full Review

Tony S

Watch the John Hughes movies with Molly Ringwald instead.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/23

Full Review

Sean M

I love this film. People give it smack for not being as good as American Graffiti or Fast Times at Ridgemont High. I say to put it on the same shelf is already high praise. There are lots of things I like about Can't Hardly more than those other legendary films. There's a Tarantinoesque characterization I love, and the archetypes are still salient today.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/11/22

Full Review

travis b

Adore this movie! A real teenage throwback.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

jordan m

This was a different flavor of high school movie than Fast Times or Dazed & Confused had been, so it only makes for a loose comparison, but I thought cloistering the kids into one house and then really focusing on the comedy aspects were both very good ideas. This one had a tighter plot structure and its one-dimensional characters actually helped distinguish them from each other a bit as there are just a large quantity of people in this movie and if they all had multiple facets it would've been difficult to remember them. The main drawback for me was that it wasn't necessarily better than the other teen movies I've been watching here lately and now that I'm reviewing it weeks later, the main memory I have of the movie were the goggles on Seth's head.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Deborah Kaplan

Director

Harry Elfont

Director

Jennifer Love Hewitt

Amanda Beckett

Ethan Embry

Preston Meyers

Charlie Korsmo

William Lichter

Lauren Ambrose

Denise Fleming

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Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - It Was Fate

2:12

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - Take Me Back?

2:05

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - First Kiss

1:30

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - Amanda's Single

1:47

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - Paradise City

2:13

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - A Second Chance

2:05

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - Preston Kisses Amanda

2:09

Can't Hardly Wait: Official Clip - I Can't Believe She Came

1:57

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Can't Hardly Wait: Trailer 1

2:31

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Mark Caro

Chicago Tribune

Kaplan and Elfont provide a real public service by showing how underage binge drinking can boost bookish students' social lives.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 19, 2014

Full Review

Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

Fortunately, some of the appealing young performers -- who include Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose and, especially, Seth Green -- manage to emerge from the film's generic suburban-teen backdrop.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 19, 2014

Full Review

Dave Kehr

New York Daily News

There are signs that Can't Hardly Wait once had more serious aspirations... But in the final edit, at least, it's the dumb, broad slapstick that prevails, short-circuiting identification with the characters before it can begin.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 19, 2014

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

It’s funny and it’s breezy and it’s horny and it treats its female characters with dignity and agency.

Feb 13, 2024

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

Lauren Ambrose is the standout in this teen comedy

Jul 5, 2021

Full Review

Justin Brown

Medium Popcorn

I really didn't care. I lost interest in this movie the more that I lost it. This movie is boring.

Rated: 1/5

Aug 25, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

School's out, and an entire graduating class -- from football stars and cool girls to complete nerds -- gathers at a wealthy classmate's home for a party. There, the artistic Preston (Ethan Embry) hopes to move in on Amanda (Jennifer Love Hewitt), the beauty he has admired from afar for years. Dorky William (Charlie Korsmo) schemes to pay back meathead Mike (Peter Facinelli) for years of bullying, and would-be rapper Kenny (Seth Green) gets locked in a room with snarky Denise (Lauren Ambrose).

Director: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont
Production Co: Tall Trees Productions, Columbia Pictures Corporation
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 12, 1998, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.3M
Sound Mix: Surround

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