Teen comedy is nothing special
Disguised as a patriotic version of “Eurotrip,” “Sex Drive” offers little new to the teenage sex comedy except a glimpse of Amish gone wild and an ingenious term for a Cleveland steamer.
In typical 21st century, teenage sex-comedy fashion, “Sex Drive” is based around one virgin’s journey to get laid. Josh Zuckerman (“Lions for Lambs”) stars as Ian, the virgin whose daily highlights include dressing up as a giant Mexican doughnut and having wet dreams about his online chat buddy, Ms. Tasty.
When Ms. Tasty suggests a meet and “greet,” Ian enlists the help of best friends Lance (Clark Duke, “Superbad”) and Felicia (Amanda Crew, “John Tucker Must Die”) to steal Ian’s brother, Rex’s (James Marsden, “27 Dresses”), car and take a road trip that will change all of their lives.
The persistence to continuously remake the “virgin-gets-laid” scenario is becoming extremely pathetic. Just seven weeks ago, “College” opened the fall season with some of the worst reviews of the year and left theaters with less than $5 million in the bank. With the premiere of “Sex Drive” this weekend, Hollywood continues its long-running streak of not being able to take a hint.
Viewers realize any chance at originality is lost when the film opens with a direct rip-off of the teenage sex comedy spoof, rightfully titled “Not Another Teen Movie.” It’s almost painful to think that writers have slumped so low that they have begun to spoof the spoof genre.
It is now only a matter of time until writers and directors of classics such as “Meet the Spartans” and “Disaster Movie” start spoofing their own material.
With its outrageously predictable plot, “Sex Drive” relies on its characters being forced into awkward situations to bring the laughs. While not quite as bluntly disgusting as “College,” the trio’s mishaps may invoke more than just giggles. Such instances include Ian’s glory hole encounter at a pit stop restroom and Lance’s “Rolling Brown Out” redneck sex experience.
It is the much-hyped supporting cast’s job to bring the film to a higher comedic level. James Marsden is, without a doubt, this film’s saving grace as the testosterone-overloaded older brother. Proving his male dominance through his car and his ability to demolish garage doors, Marsden excels when he attempts to care for his brother. When afraid of Ian becoming a homosexual, he proclaims, “No way is my brother taking it in the chili hole,” and helps him get to his date.
In a slim role, Seth Green (“Family Guy”) not only manages to insult the Amish community, but also finds a way to be a bigger smart-ass than Dr. Gregory House. As the Amish renegade who can pimp any car or wagon, his onscreen shenanigans always give viewers an honest reason to laugh.
As one of the most forgettable films of the year, “Sex Drive” will be remembered for its disgusting lack of respect for the American moviegoer’s intelligence.
‘Sex Drive’
Release Date: Oct. 17
Director: Sean Anders
Starring: Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, Clark Duke and James Marsden
Genre: Comedy
Rating: R for strong crude and sexual content, nudity, language, some drug and alcohol use - all involving teens.
Grade: D+
Jay Brissenden is a film critic for the Nevada Sagebrush. He can be reached at jbrissenden@nevadasagebrush.com
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm and is filed under Arts & Entertainment, Film Reviews, Vibe.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Print this post
Email this post© 2008 The Nevada Sagebrush
October 22nd, 2008 at 10:55 pm
your right these kind of movies are to over done and they really need to come up with something else to gear toward the teen audince