Drive Me Crazy

Rating:
Summary: Music
Review: Any 1999 movie that seamlessly integrates the sound of REO Speedwagon ("Keep on Loving You") rocks in my book.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is adorable!
Review: This movie is absolutely adorable. It's a pretty accurate description of a teenager's life. I thought it would be some fluff filled movie, but it isn't. I had been told that this was a horrible movie, but it wasn't! It displays the insecurities we all have and our feelings of revenge. The cast did an absolutely suburb job of portraying the storyline. If you like watching "teen" flicks, this is for you! If you like to watch good movies, then this is for you! This is for any movie fan out there. Just check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: A friend told me that my review for this film is quoted on the video package--and that somehow I was seen as endorsing it. Here is the full review from the Los Angeles Times:

Regard with suspicion any movie named after a song. It suggests there's not much to latch on to about the film in question, so its handlers have tried to co-opt the persona of a popular tune. "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Something to Talk About" both leap to mind.

In the case of "Drive Me Crazy," anyone eligible to vote might not get the reference to the Britney Spears song--and that's likely intentional. The movie, which stars Melissa Joan Hart of TV's "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," will fall beneath grown-up radar--and that's no great loss. Like the song, the movie is bouncy and catchy but disposable pop material.

Hart stars as Nicole Maris, a campus booster nonpareil. In with the popular crowd but still remarkably wholesome, Nicole is organizing a sort of massive homecoming dance to celebrate the centennial of Timothy Zonin High School a.k.a. Time Zone High. Her next-door neighbor, Chase Hammond (Adrian Grenier), is the kind of guy who pulls pranks on people like her and views high school as nothing worth celebrating.

Nicole gets jilted by her dream date and Chase gets dumped by his tres political girlfriend. Guess what Nicole and Chase do? Go ahead. Guess. OK, OK . . . they pretend they're dating to make the other people jealous. And guess what happens? Go ahead. Guess.

But there's no point in being mean-spirited about a film like this. Slickly directed (though full of TV-style close-ups) and tightly cut, it is perfectly entertaining for 91 minutes. Like "She's All That," "Can't Hardly Wait" and others before it, "Drive Me Crazy" projects from the very beginning that nothing bad is going to happen in this movie. "Relax," it says, "it's all good here."

Adapted by TV writer Rob Thomas from the book "How I Created My Perfect Prom Date" by Todd Strasser, "Drive Me Crazy" is set in Utah, where somehow it is basketball season but also swim-in-the-river weather. Other aspects of Time Zone High, however, feel as real as home video, such as the drill squad and the morning student news show.

Whatever charisma Hart has on TV, the big screen dilutes it tenfold. Director John Schultz, formerly a documentarian, does her no favors by relying on the close-up. It's not that she's unattractive--it's more that she's unexpressive. Grenier, whose floppy curls and loping stride suggest high school, even if his 5 o'clock shadow does not, has far more charisma.

Not surprisingly, the movie is hyper-aware of its own soundtrack, even beyond the cut from Spears' absurdly platinum-selling " . . . Baby One More Time" album. Don Philip, Steps and the Backstreet Boys--all notably on Jive Records--make musical appearances. Music supervisors Tom Wolfe and Manish Raval appear to hijack the movie for a short music video to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way."

"Drive Me Crazy" earns social points for giving the unpopular characters far more personality than most of the in-crowd. Mark Webber is Designated Dave, who volunteers to drive kids home from parties--kids who don't even know his last name. Kris Park plays Ray, a budding filmmaker who videotapes everything around him.

The cool kids--with one or two exceptions--aren't cruel. The film wants to side with the underdog geeks, but can't then criticize their desires to be popular. If the movie wants to have it both ways, that's easy to forgive. Remember, it's all good here.

If teens somehow get excited about "Drive Me Crazy," no harm done. But unlike, say, "Sixteen Candles," this won't be a picture today's teens and preteens look back to later, with even campy nostalgia. It'll drop from memory as quickly as Britney Spears drops from the pop charts. That's got to happen soon, right?

Rating:
Summary: one of my number 1 favs
Review: drive me crazy is one of the best movies ever. it's a great teen flick and i loved the chemistry between nicole and chase. i own the book too, by Todd Strasser, but the movie is a zillion times better. i loved every minute and i recommend it to anybody.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Teen-Movie
Review: I think it's the best teen-movie that's ever been made. The movie has got a simpel story, but the movie is super. The actors are very talented (Melissa Joan Hart is the best !!! - I love her so much ;). The DVD has got some good extras (music clips, trailers), but it's not a revelation! But I say to YOU : BUY THIS DVD - NOW !!!! :-)

Rating:
Summary: TotallyMelissa Joan Hart!!!!!!!
Review: I liked this movie it was awesome I've only seen it once. I'm like so obsessed with Melissa Joan Hart I have two pictures of her hanging in my bedroom. after I watched it I was like WOW!!!!!!!!! TOTALY ANOTHER MOVIE WITH MELISSA IN IT................HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so I recommend you get this movie Melissa Joan Hart fan, it is totally cool!!!!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Ok Teen flick
Review: This movie starts out just like any other teen movie, loud music and a school with all sorts of people. The story goes like this, a girl gets dumped and so does her nextdoor neighbor. So what can they do? They decide to get back at their crushes by pulling off that they are dating. What they didn't plan on was falling for each other. Teen witch superstar Melissa Joan Hart(Sabrina the teenage witch) and Adrian Grenier(the adventures of sabastian cole) do ok jobs at this movie, but it lacks the potential teen movies that were funny in the past (ten things i hate about you, she's all that,never been kissed). See the movie for yourself, maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't but i hope you got something out of my review. Thanks

Rating:
Summary: Great Flick!
Review: I saw this movie on opening day with my best friend, it's Mellisa Joan Hart at her finest! It has a great suprise ending, it's a comedy, and a very good one at that, I liked that her dad was Stephen Collins (aka Rev. Eric Camdem, from 7th Heaven) it has a nice twist, if you liked this movie I think you'll like 10 Things I Hate About You! Hope You Enjoy The Movie :)

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF 4 BEST TEEN MOVIES.
Review: OTHER 3- SHE'S ALL THAT, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU AND NEVER BEEN KISSED.

this is a great teen flick.. full of the norm. girl next door- popluar and perky. boy next door- out on the cusp of the world, doing his own thing. girl gets dissed by cute popular guy.. guy gets dissed by issue oriented girl.. girl enlists guy to get both their others back.. girl makes over guy, he becomes a stud.. and all hell breaks loose.. They ultimatly fall in love and realize they were meant for each other all along.. ofcourse the typical dance scenes are there as well--this time instead of prom, it's a special centennial dance.

Rating:
Summary: Its rather bad
Review: I've only seen a few recent high school movies (Rushmore, Clueless, Election) that succeed in escaping the cliches and bad production that plague most teen movies these days (She's All That, Down to You, Varsity Blues). Drive Me Crazy is intitially perceived as one of the latter, it even had a horrible little Brittany Spears pop song made in its honor to attract the kind of people who listen to that garbage. But, as one watches it they see that it tries hard to be part of the former group by making a statement about the pointlessness of school spirit and conformity. Drive Me Crazy could have been an interesting dark satire on high school, and for a moment it veers into that catergory, but all too fast it falls victim to fake character conflicts and horrible acting.

With the exception of the "Designated Dave" character, no one gives even a decent performance, most of all Melissa Joan Hart, who replaces Jennifer Love Hewitt (can't these people have 2 names?) as THE worst actress in movies now. When her character turned around and we could see the obviously fake tears strategically placed running down her cheeks, I burst out laughing!

So, I guess this movie is worth renting once, but beyond that, its pretty hard to get over the bad script and performances. And check out Rushmore, Clueless, and Election. ifyouwishtocontactme - [e-mail]