Can’t Hardly Wait 4K Review (Sony Pictures)

Can’t Hardly Wait is a 1998 teen comedy written/directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (Josie and the Pussycats, Love Life, Mary + Jane, Leap Year, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Made of Honor, A Very Brady Sequel, Surviving Christmas, and Liza on Demand). It’s produced by actress Betty Thomas (Surviving Christmas, Guess Who, Charlie’s Angels, and I Spy). The budget was $10,000,000 and it grossed $25,605,015 worldwide at the box office. It’s graduation day at Huntington Hills High for Amanda Beckett (played by: Jennifer Love Hewitt from I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise, The Tuxedo, Heartbreakers, 9-1-1, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer, and Party of Five), Preston Meyers (played by: Ethan Embry from Empire Records, That Thing You Do!, Vegas Vacation, Sweet Home Alabama, Sneaky Pete, Disturbing Behavior, and Brotherhood), William Lichter (played by: Charlie Korsmo from Dick Tracy, Hook, What About Bob?, Men Don’t Leave, and The Doctor), Denise Fleming (played by: Lauren Ambrose from In and Out, Six Feet Under, Psycho Beach Party, Yellowjackets, Servant, and Diggers), Mike Dexter (played by: Peter Facinelli from the Twilight franchise, Nurse Jackie, Supergirl, Countdown, Damages, and Fastlane), Kenny Fisher (played by: Seth Green from IT, Austin Powers franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Robot Chicken, Idle Hands, Rat Race, Family Guy, and Can’t Buy Me Love), and many others. It’s time for them to take a serious look about their future. These students at the party include athletes, nerds, popular girls, outcasts, and the rich. They have been wanting to finish high school and move on to something else. Tonight, the seniors will finally leave all that behind for the things that really matter in life which includes romance, friendship, memories, revenge, and rock ‘n’ roll before it’s all over. Will these teenagers be the same after this legendary night????Can’t Hardly Wait is one of my favorite teen comedies from the 90’s. It’s one of the best when it comes to that sub-genre. It has a great script that gives you a little bit of everything when it comes to these students. The writers and directors pay homage to all the iconic teenage comedies that were dominating in the 80’s. I love the variety of wild interactions with all these fascinating characters throughout Can’t Hardly Wait. It has a nice balance of comedy, drama, romance, and crazy situations. Most of the jokes and scenes still hold up, there’s some real hilarious moments in Can’t Hardly Wait. Character actor Ethan Embry as Preston Meyers is the unlikely lead here. He’s great as the outcast that nobody really thinks about and he’s kinda in the background when it comes to his school. He’s always played it safe and smart. He finally gets the guts to tell his crush his feelings after all these years. Jennifer Love Hewitt as Amanda Beckett is at her best in this. She’s the perfect and most popular girl at Huntington Hills High. She has always worried about what everyone thinks and she enjoyed her power in school. After getting dumped, she starts to find her real self at this party. She notices who are her real friends after this new experience. She notices people and stuff that she didn’t before. Can’t Hardly Wait does a fantastic job on the build up between Preston Meyers and Amanda Beckett. Peter Facinelli as Mike Dexter is an interesting villain here. He’s the most popular guy in high school and he is a bully to almost everyone around him. Charlie Korsmo as William Lichter is better than expected in Can’t Hardly Wait. I remember seeing him in all kinds of movies when he was younger but this role is completely different for him. He’s the geek that somehow becomes the most popular person at this huge graduation party. He wants revenge on Mike Dexter before the night is done. Those two characters have some entertaining scenes together. I personally think the next two are very underrated in this. I really enjoyed the subplot with Lauren Ambrose and Seth Green in Can’t Hardly Wait. It’s about two former friends reconnecting after changing so much. They are so different now but they are still have that same familiar bond after being forced to spend time when getting trapped. They have excellent chemistry together and they really stand out when it comes to this loaded cast. The rest of the impressive supporting cast includes Erik Palladino (Suits), Channon Roe (Bio-Dome), Sean Patrick Thomas (Barbershop franchise), Freddy Rodríguez (Six Feet Under), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Jaime Pressly (My Name Is Earl), Tamala Jones (Castle), Jennifer Lyons (Jack Frost 2), Chris Owen (American Pie franchise), Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Clea DuVall (The Faculty), Eric Balfour (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Sara Rue (Rules of Engagement), Breckin Meyer (Clueless), Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg), Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), and Jerry O’Connell (Stand By Me). Can’t Hardly Wait is so much fun and it’s very entertaining. It has top notch replay value, I think it gets better each time I revisit it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Sony Pictures! This 2160p (1.85:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 is a brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative. It’s honestly the best that Can’t Hardly Wait has ever looked on home video and it’s massive improvement over the previous Blu Ray from 2008. Everything really pops out here when it comes to the sharp picture quality. The party has some nice visuals during it’s crazy night. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, and English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on this UHD. I’m happy to report that Sony has upgraded the audio for Can’t Hardly Wait with two brand new tracks. It sounds awesome now especially the soundtrack. All of the dialogue is crisp, the chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English, English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. It has the exclusive and newly unreleased 11 “Alternate and Deleted Scenes” which includes Liquor Store, Don’t Let the dog Out, Frozen Watermelon, Poll Confession, Dark Party, Cops Arrive, Pool House, Chlorine Yearbook, Mascot, and Crying Girl. Some of the smaller roles get a little shine here including Jason Segel. It has some hilarious extended moments from some of the main cast also. I’m surprised some of this didn’t make the final cut. This is the biggest drawl when it comes to this brand new UHD release. Sony has been digging into their vaults lately and adding them on their recent 4Ks. It has all the archive extras from past home video releases. It has the original “Audio Commentary” with co-directors Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, producer Jenno Topping, and actor Seth Green. They get more technical here and go over some behind the scenes stuff. They mention edits and shot material that didn’t make it in the theatrical version. They chat about some of the music in the film for it’s soundtrack. They wanted give it a mix of everything. They joke about some of the background people dancing offbeat to something different. They talk about the production with some interesting information and sharing funny stories from it. They mention the don’t let the dog out subplot got completely cut from this after pointing out a few scenes that reminded them of it. They are focused on some of the fashion in this and the various styles for Can’t Hardly Wait. They discuss a few actors that were working on TV shows the same time as this was being made.They say they still get stuff about making the letter so mysterious and you never really know what it exactly says. There’s never a dull moment here. They all enjoy reminiscing about Can’t Hardly Wait. It has the 10 year reunion “Audio Commentary” with co-directors Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, actors Peter Facinelli, Donald Faison, Seth Green, and Joel Michaely. This group has a little more fun than the previous track. They have a blast watching this after it being out for 10 years. It has a few cast members that had smaller roles so it’s kinda cool to get their perspectives because they weren’t the stars in this. They point out other films or television shows that the actors showed up in later on. They joke about lots of people from this ended up in Six Feet Under. They said Don’t get me wrong, they still provide plenty of information and stories from the teen comedy. They bring up the soundtrack and why some of it was in it. Donald Faison is given credit during this for helping out with some of Kenny’s dialogue. Seth explains how he got the role and who it was originally written for. The best thing about having these two tracks, they are completely different from each other so it gives you a nice variety. You learn so much about Can’t Hardly Wait here. “Huntington Hills High Class of ’98 Reunion” is almost 27 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. They chat about about how they got the gig. They talk about it helping out with future opportunities especially with some of the smaller roles. They mention that it’s some of the best casting during it’s time. Lots of the smaller cast originally went for the leads but they decided to take another character when they didn’t get it. They originally wanted Ethan Embry as William but he pushed to be the main character instead. They mention Kenny was originally written for Breckin Meyer but he was already shooting 54 at the same time. They bring up their characters and the entire cast. They share their experiences from the 90’s comedy. “Can’t Hardly Wait’: The Making of a Teen Classic” is a little over 14 minutes. It has interviews with the crew and the cast. The co-directors go over the origins of Can’t Hardly Wait. They got into the business as writers and they got some studio jobs. They chat about just starting out here as first time directors and they were inexperienced while putting it together but it added something different to the project. They mention some original ideas that they had before going with this concept. They are very honest about what they like and dislike about their movie. The rest of the cast just shares their thoughts, opinions, and stories from the production. It has the 9 minute “The Life of the Party”. It has interviews with the cast. They chat about other high school movies and their iconic parties. They show their appreciation for the sub-genre and bring up what they enjoy from them. They talk about their own real life experiences when it comes to all of that. It has 6 older “Deleted Scenes” which includes Extended Dendrophilia, Alternate Trip McNeely, Alternate Jail Scene, Extended Party Bust, and The Party Sucked that’s a little over 7 minutes. There’s lots of material if you add the newer scenes so I’m surprised Can’t Hardly Wait never got a longer version. It has the “I Can’t get Enough of You Baby” music video from Smash Mouth. It has a “Theatrical Trailer”. It comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!