Drive Me Crazy Film Review

John Schultz's Witty Teen Romance Starring Melissa Joan Hart

Nov 27, 2008

A fluffy teen rom-com that adds up to more than the sum of its parts, Drive Me Crazy is a movie inspired by youth culture director supreme John Hughes. 7/10

In these days of High School Musical and the Jonus Brothers, when Disney appears to be rolling its tweenie productions out of a cookie cutter machine, it's tempting to reminisce. Back in the eighties we had clever, cool flicks aimed at the teenage market. Pump up the Volume, Clueless, Heathers and, of course, everyones guilty pleasure The Breakfast Club. Although it was released over a decade too late to be part of this scene, Drive Me Crazy follows in the footsteps of these greats.

Drive Me Crazy - A Witty and Watchable Great Date Movie

The film revels in the conventions of the genre. The jocks are pitted against the nerds, and all the popular girls at High school are really just scheming social climbers, blessed only by skin deep beauty. The plot, such that it is, involves the ubiquitous school dance, throwing panic amongst the preening self-obsessed youngsters as they rush to secure appropriate dates. So far so predictable, huh? And yet there's something about Drive Me Crazy that really sets it apart. Yes, the story has been told a million times. Yes, the film drops hints about who's going to pair up with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. But as popcorn movies go, it is just so damn enjoyable. The characters are likable, and the dialogue is witty enough to make Drive Me Crazy an effortlessly watchable film.

Melissa Joan Hart – More than a Teenage Witch?

Melissa Joan Hart, fresh from her stint on children's TV in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, plays the movie heroine Nicole. She wants to go to the dance with basketball hunk Brad (why are the hunks always called Brad?), even though he looks like the chunky one out of Westlife. She isn't a bit interested in Chase (Adrian Gilner) the sweetly rebellious boy next door. But, wouldn't ya just know it, things are about to change.

Based on Todd Strasser's Novel

Drive Me Crazy is a warm-hearted and well written movie, based on the book How I Created My Perfect Prom Date by Todd Strasser. Strasser is a man who clearly knows his way around the modern vagaries of High School. He also wrote the High school set novel The Wave, which recently spawned the brilliantly thought provoking German film Die Welle. It just goes to show, if the scaffolding underpinning a film is solid, the chances of producing something good are much improved. Drive Me Crazy is slick, entertaining and full of youthful exuberance. It's not an important film, it doesn't require any brain-work, but it is fluffy and fun and very well done. Sometimes, that's exactly what's required.

The copyright of the article Drive Me Crazy Film Review in Romantic Comedy Films is owned by Michelle Strozykowski. Permission to republish Drive Me Crazy Film Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.