Drive Me Crazy

reviewed by Vivian Rose, age 14, from US

"Drive Me Crazy" is a silly, unrealistic, pointless teen movie that tries to be bright and witty but comes off contrived and phony.

Melissa Joan Hart, who is sure to draw adolescent viewers to this movie on star power alone - and that's all this movie has going for it- plays a high school student whose intended boyfriend decides he isn't interested in her. Meanwhile, her next door neighbor, a fellow student at her school, gets dumped by his girlfriend.

To avoid embarrassment, the two pair up and pretend to be an item when they really don't like each other much. At least not at first - but you can see where this one's headed.

When I entered the theatre to see "Drive Me Crazy", I chose a seat in the middle of the room. I quickly changed my mind when I realized a group of giggly, loud preteen girls was seated directly behind me. Even though I moved to the other side of the room, I could still hear them squealing loudly after the movie started.

I get the impression that loud, giggly twelve- and thirteen- year old girls who watch a lot of those moronic teen sitcoms on TV are the target audience for "Drive Me Crazy". That makes sense, because they're the only people who will find this movie amusing or surprising.

The actors were obviously chosen for their ability to draw such audiences - not for their ability to act. (It can be argued that an actor's ability to draw audiences is directly related to his/her ability to act - but with teen actors, there does not appear to be a direct correlation.) The subplots were sprinkled onto the script the way you'd sprinkle bacon bits onto a salad - they were little more than garnish. Subplots should be necessary constituents of a script, or they should be left out entirely.

My rating: 2 stars Rating :

Rated PG-13 (For teen alcohol and drug use, and for language)

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