By snoadmin
The latest in a long line of raunchy teen comedies is “Sex Drive.” Instead of a throw-back to bawdy comedies of the past, this film seems to be attempting to cram every cliché and overly used bit from its predecessors into each scene.
When 18-year-old virgin, Ian (Josh Zuckerman) gets the green light to go and visit a girl he met online, he is encouraged by best friend Lance (Clark Duke) to steal older brother Rex’s (James Marsden) Pontiac GTO to make the nine-hour drive. Throw in female — but not feminine — best friend, Felicia (Amanda Crew), and you have a road trip, destination: sex.
All sorts of shenanigans happen along the way, all formulaic and annoyingly predictable. Make a checklist of every silly, dumb, gross, potty-humor, ignorant or sexual joke you’ve seen in a movie or made with your friends and you will undoubtedly check most, if not every single one, off while watching this film. I like to take notes for my reviews and I was writing everything down before it happened. Everything.
Road kill that doesn’t want to die, cops who are inept and brainless and more gay jokes than any person should have to endure in one movie is the mundane series of scenes you’ll get with “Sex Drive.” Don’t forget to add a scene of diarrhea in a public restroom that they managed to add a bizarre and lame George Michael moment into as well. Each of the love stories squeezed into the script end up being misplaced and are just another additive to the same-old formulas.
Lance is the PC version to “Gossip Girl” Chuck Bass’ Mac. Rex is the same super-tool jock of an older brother we’ve seen before; with a softer side you should see coming from the first scene he’s in — though some audience members’ reactions lead me to believe they never saw it coming. Crew looks bizarrely like Hannah Montana threw on a wig and decided to leave music for acting.
There were a few moments that earned my laughter, such as Rex’s dream and the perfectly tasteless and cheesy themed motel rooms. The donut shop mascot costume will give you the giggles, especially when they’re outside of Bob’s Big Boy.
Mostly terrible actors in smaller roles are mixed with the talent of other actors wasted in the main roles, particularly Duke’s. Seth Green’s performance is the only wholly noteworthy one, and he admits to at least a portion of it being improvised rather than scripted. The flexibility of going off the script undoubtedly attributed to the funnier lines Green’s performance lent to the film. Amish farmer Ezekiel’s (Green) deadpan sarcasm may be “lost on his people,” but it will leave you feeling uncomfortable for Ian while laughing into the scenes that follow.
The credits were cleverly displayed, along with the extra tid-bits of story continuation audiences look for these days. The clips of Green and extended cameos by Fall Out Boy during the credits are funnier than most of the other scenes during the movie.
If you want to see a totally expected story, stereotypical characters without anything new to offer, then head out to catch this. I suggest renting a classic like “Weird Science” or something slightly newer like “Dumb and Dumber” where you’ll get a feel of the same humor without the overused after-taste.
“Sex Drive” crashed. It would have been nice to have a fresh take on this type of comedy — you know, “with a twist.”
SUMMARY: Three friends, on a road trip filled with mishaps, eventually reach the destinations they really needed to get to.
OUR VIEW: “Sex Drive” is a road trip everybody has already taken.
STARS: 1 out of 4
