Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

Directors:

Harry Elfont
Deborah Kaplan

Writers (WGA):

Deborah Kaplan (written by) &
Harry Elfont (written by)

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

For the class of 1998, the last night of high school is the first night of the rest of their lives.

Plot:

Multicharacter teenage comedy about high school graduates with different agenda of life on graduation night.

Plot Keywords:

Party | High School | Graduation | Letter | Revenge

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 15

8:30 AM

MTV

Cast

Jennifer Love Hewitt	...	Amanda
Ethan Embry	...	Preston
Charlie Korsmo	...	William
Lauren Ambrose	...	Denise
Peter Facinelli	...	Mike
Seth Green	...	Kenny
Michelle Brookhurst	...	Girl Whose Party It Is
Alexander Martin	...	Exchange Student
Erik Palladino	...	Cousin Ron
Channon Roe	...	Jock #1
Sean Patrick Thomas	...	Jock #2
Freddy Rodríguez	...	Jock #3 (as Freddy Rodriguez)
Joel Michaely	...	X-Phile #1
Jay Paulson	...	X-Phile #2
Brian Hall	...	Real Homeboy
Branden Williams	...	Homeboy #1
Robert Jayne	...	Homeboy #2 (as Bobby Jacoby)
Johnny Zander	...	Guitar Player
Donald Faison	...	Drummer
Alec Ledd	...	Bass Player (as Alaa Khaled)
Jaime Pressly	...	Girlfriend #1 (as Jamie Pressly)
Tamala Jones	...	Girlfriend #2
Jennifer Lyons	...	Girlfriend #3
Seth Peterson	...	Keg Guy
Angelo Vacco	...	Beer Drinker
Nick Paulos	...	Beer Drinker
Chris Owen	...	Klepto Kid
Vicellous Reon Shannon	...	Reddi Whip Kid (as Vicellous Shannon)
Victor Togunde	...	Reminiscing Guy
Monica McSwain	...	Groupie
Marisol Nichols	...	Groupie
Liz Stauber	...	Gossipy Girl
Nicole Bilderback	...	Ready to Have Sex Girl
Jason Segel	...	Watermelon Guy
Paige Moss	...	Ashley
Clea DuVall	...	Jana (as Clea Duvall)
Leslie Grossman	...	Ready to Have Sex's Friend
Ali MacLean	...	Language Lab Girl
Brian Klugman	...	Stoner Guy
Meadow Sisto	...	Hippie Girl
Eric Balfour	...	Hippie Guy
Selma Blair	...	Girl Mike Hits On #1
Jennifer Paz	...	Girl Mike Hits On #2
Sara Rue	...	Earth Girl
Nils Larsen	...	Skinny Guy
Steve Monroe	...	Headbanger
Eric Brice Scott	...	Hockey Guy
Christopher Wiehl	...	Horny Guy (as Chris Wiehl)
John Patrick White	...	Tassel Guy
Jamie Donnelly	...	Teacher
Reni Santoni	...	Cop
Rob Roy Fitzgerald	...	Cop
Corinne Reilly	...	Cop
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Amber Benson	...	Stephanie, Stoned, Banana-holding Girl (scenes deleted)
Jennifer Elise Cox	...	Mary, Crying Drunk Girl (scenes deleted)
Summer Phoenix	...	Candy, Stoned Girl's Friend (scenes deleted)
Jenna Elfman	...	The Angel (uncredited)
Harry Elfont	...	Graduation Student (voice) (uncredited)
Alexandra Ella	...	Giggle Girl (uncredited)
Shannon Frank	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Melissa Joan Hart	...	Vicki, Yearbook Girl (uncredited)
Arden James	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Deborah Kaplan	...	Graduation Student (voice) (uncredited)
Breckin Meyer	...	Walter - Lovebürger Lead Singer (uncredited)
Jerry O'Connell	...	Trip McNeely (uncredited)
Mary Ann Schmidt	...	All Night Party Guest (uncredited)
Liv Tyler	...	Gum Girl (voice) (uncredited)
Tracy R. West	...	Sydney, Graduate Student (uncredited)
Scott Ryan Whinery	...	Graduate Student (uncredited)
Johnny Whitworth	...	Gum Boy (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Elfont
Deborah Kaplan

Writing credits (WGA)
Deborah Kaplan		(written by) &
Harry Elfont		(written by)

Produced by
Richard Graves	....	associate producer
Karen Koch	....	co-producer
Betty Thomas	....	producer
Jenno Topping	....	producer

Original Music by
David Kitay

Cinematography by
Lloyd Ahern II		(director of photography) (as Lloyd Ahern)

Film Editing by
Michael Jablow

Casting by
Anne McCarthy
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Marcia Hinds		(as Marcia Hinds-Johnson)
Adam Short

Art Direction by
Bo Johnson

Set Decoration by
Jan K. Bergstrom		(as Jan Bergstrom)

Costume Design by
Mark Bridges

Makeup Department
John Damiani	....	key makeup artist
Frances Mathias	....	hair stylist
Voni Hinkle	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Kerry Mendenhall	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)
Shari Perry	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)
Wendy Robin	....	assistant makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Karen Koch	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Ascher	....	second second assistant director (as David L. Ascher)
Richard Graves	....	first assistant director
Susan J. Hellmann	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Craig B. Ayers Sr.	....	greensman
Russell Bobbitt	....	property master
Tracy Bobbitt	....	assistant props (as Tracy M. Bobbitt)
Bryan D. Garofalo	....	assistant property master
Joseph P. Lucky	....	set designer
Jeff Passanante	....	construction coordinator
Eric Sundahl	....	set designer
Donald B. Woodruff	....	set designer
Thomas E. Brown	....	paint supervisor (uncredited)
Michael Casey	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Daren Dochterman	....	illustrator (uncredited)
Jim Gmuer	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Scott Lafferty	....	propmaker (uncredited)
Tim R. Lafferty	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Scott MacLachlan	....	property maker (uncredited)
Todd Morris	....	on-set dresser (uncredited)
Jodi Tripi	....	art department coordinator (uncredited)

Sound Department
John H. Arrufat	....	dialogue editor (as J.H. Arrufat)
Raul A. Bruce	....	boom operator
David B. Cohn	....	supervising adr editor
David M. Cowan	....	dialogue editor
Ali Derakhshan	....	assistant sound editor
Nerses Gezalyan	....	foley mixer (as Nerses Auguste Gezalyan)
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley artist (as Gary Hecker)
Drake Jenevein	....	assistant sound editor
Roxanne Jones	....	supervising sound editor
David Kirschner	....	production sound mixer
Mark Lanza	....	sound effects editor (as Mark A. Lanza)
Patricio A. Libenson	....	foley editor (as Patricio Libenson)
Steve Pederson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tom Perry	....	sound re-recording mixer
Diana J. Rogers	....	apprentice sound editor
Steven Ticknor	....	sound effects editor
Scott A. Tinsley	....	foley editor (as Scot Tinsely)
David F. Van Slyke	....	sound effects editor
Jeffrey Wilhoit	....	foley artist (as Jeff Wilhoit)
David Williams	....	dialogue editor
Matt Colleran	....	dubbing recordist (uncredited)
Lisa Varetakis	....	sound editor (TV version) (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lou Carlucci	....	special effects

Stunts
Clay Boss	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Carl Boles	....	chief lighting technician
Mike Bonnaud	....	assistant chief lighting technician (as Michael Bonnaud)
Anthony R. Collier	....	second grip
Mark W. Elias	....	key grip
Joe Kraft	....	dolly grip
Mark La Bonge	....	camera operator (as Mark LaBonge)
Todd McMullen	....	first assistant camera
Darren Michaels	....	unit still photographer
Sean J. O'Shea	....	second assistant camera (as Sean O'Shea)
Pasquale Attanasio	....	grip: re-shoot (uncredited)
Michael Cassidy	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Luis Moreno	....	lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
Leigh French	....	voice casting
Judy Cook	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Joseph Hicks	....	extras casting (uncredited)
Freddy Luis	....	casting assistant (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eden Clark Coblenz	....	wardrobe supervisor (as Eden C. Coblenz)
Shari Gray	....	costumer
Lisa Halperin	....	set costumer
Damien Quinn	....	costumer
Lori Jean Sacks	....	costumer (as Lori Sacks)

Editorial Department
Linda DeMarco	....	color timer (as Linda Demarco)
Heather Mullen	....	first assistant editor
Jud Nealon	....	assistant editor
Eric Wiler	....	assistant editor
Dale Jones	....	avid technician (uncredited)
Eric Rigney	....	avid technician (uncredited)

Music Department
Tim Boyle	....	score mixer
Stuart Grusin	....	music editor
Carlton Kaller	....	music editor
Suzan Mann	....	music clearance
Ralph Sall	....	executive music producer
Pete Anthony	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Brian Benison	....	music preparation (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Jon Carpenter	....	transportation captain
Shane Greedy	....	transportation co-captain
J. Armin Garza II	....	driver: camera car (uncredited)

Other crew
Jason Behrman	....	assistant: Ms. Thomas
Jeff Bilger	....	production assistant
Benita Brazier	....	script supervisor
Patricia L. DeShields	....	production accountant (as Patsy Deshields)
John Falvey	....	assistant: Ms. Koch
Stephen Fischer	....	location manager
Mary Holliday	....	production assistant
Lis Peery	....	assistant: Ms. Topping
Michael Peters	....	assistant: Ms. Kaplan and Mr. Elfont
Claire Raskind	....	unit publicist (as Claire Raskind Cooper)
Lisa Schafer	....	assistant: Ms. Thomas
John Starr	....	craft service
Louise Tolan	....	production assistant
Christine White	....	production coordinator
Melissa Elliott	....	title designer (uncredited)
Paul Guyot	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Dominique Jaramillo	....	production medic (uncredited)
Chris Miller	....	technical services (uncredited)
Jeffrey D. Stevens	....	key medic (uncredited)
Wayne Witherspoon	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation (presents) (as Columbia Pictures)
• Tall Trees Productions (as A Tall Trees Production)

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1998) (USA) (theatrical)
• WB Television Network, The (2002) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Columbia TriStar Films (France)
• Columbia TriStar Films de España
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (Brazil) (VHS)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (1999) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

Special Effects

• D. Rez Hollywood (digital effects)
• FractalVision (fractal animation courtesy of) (as FractalVision Oak Park, California)

Other Companies

• American Humane Association, The  animal action monitoring (as The American Humane Association)
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes
• Cinema Research  titles and opticals
• Elektra Records  soundtrack
• Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG  author of this film (motion picture) for the purpose of copyright and other laws (as Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Co. Film KG)
• Santa Clarita Studios  special thanks
• Sony Pictures Studios  sound editorial services
• Todd-AO Studios (West)  mixed and re-recorded at
• Trailer Park  main titles design

Also Known As:

The Party (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for teen drinking and sexuality, and for language.

Runtime:

100 min | Argentina:101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS (as Sony Dynamic Digital Sound)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:14A | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35793)

Filming Locations:

Dutton's Bookstore - 11975 San Vicente Boulevard, Reseda, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The scrolling credentials listed in William Lichter's profile include: Valedictorian, National Merit Scholar, Captain - State Physics Bowl Team, Captain - State Math Olympics Team, State Math Champion, State Spelling Bee Champion, National Human Spirit Award, State Science Fair First Prize, Honor Roll Recipient, Perpetual Motion Award (Space Camp), Soap Box Derby Champion, Eagle Scout, Rotary Club, French Club, Spanish Club, Mandarin Chinese Club, German Club, Dead Romance Languages Club, Large Wooden Club, Math Club, Spelling Bee Club, Debate Team, Computer Club, Brighter Minds Society, Inventors Club, Anti-Athletic Club, Klingon Language Club, Kite Club, WWW.COM Club, Bill Gates Society, Classical Music Club, Stone Cutters, Dungeons and Dragons Club (Founder), Magic The Gathering Club (Founder), Secret Society, Junior Harvard Club (Founder), Megabyte Club, Physics Club, Latin Club, Math Olympics, Academic Decathlon, and Chess Club. The list repeats several times.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Amanda is trying to figure out who Preston is, a girl in yellow tights walks past in the background twice.

Quotes:

Denise: Besides, I heard that song was about his dog.
Preston: It's not about a dog. It's about a woman named Amanda. Who the hell names their dog Amanda?
Denise: My cousin had a dog name Samantha.
Preston: Shut up about the dog, OK?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Van Wilder (2002)

Soundtrack:

High

One of the better teen comedies.

Again, like the many, many teen comedies to come before it, CAN'T HARDLY WAIT has you watching as the teenagers run around, crack jokes, yell at each other, scream, drink beer, and kiss and fall in love. Yes, it's all very mushy and romantic. Not so much in this movie...

Like 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, this movie doesn't really concentrate on the romantic elements until later in the film, which I like. It is more original and gives the movie more flavor. This is why most of these teen romance flicks are not really big at the box office. Its because they are predictable, they have been done a thousand times before and because everyone knows how it will turn out. That is why horror movies are always big. Because at least with a horror movie you usually have to figure out who the masked killer is or something like that. But with these boring teen comedies, you always know how it will turn out. This movie is different.

You never really know what is going to happen, because this movie takes the honor of having a very large cast of characters and follows each of them very specifically, developing a story and history for each of them. The cast includes Ethan Embry, Seth Green, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Melissa Joan Hart, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Jenna Elfman, Breckin Meyer, Sean Patrick Thomas, Brandon Williams, Jaime Pressly, Liz Stauber, Clea DuVall, Brian Klugman, and Jerry O'Connel have parts in this movie. Many of these people only have small cameos, but all are hilarious in this delightfully funny teen romp.

CAN'T HARDLY WAIT gets 5/5.