The comparisons between Sex Drive
and Superbad are abundant and apparent. It would be
downright ignorant of one to claim that the minds behind the
former didn’t consider the success of the latter when making
their film. Indeed, Sex Drive bears quite the external
resemblance to last year’s Judd Apatow-produced
cultural-phenomenon. Seriously: is there much of a difference
between a plot about shy teen who plans to travel cross-country
to have sex with a hottie he meets on a social-networking
website and a plot about a geeky teen/obnoxious teen-duo that
tries to get laid by scoring similar hotties alcohol? Perhaps
not in terms of narrative there isn’t, but rest assured, Sex
Drive and Superbad are two radically different films.
Apatow’s baby found its laughs in socially-relatable, awkward
humor and this picture… well, prefers to deal with far more
relevant humor about snarky Amish mechanics named Ezekiel.
Yes, Sex
Drive features a snarky Amish mechanic named Ezekiel,
hilariously played by Seth Green in a role that only Seth Green
could pull off. (The “Amish mechanic” paradox only represents
only the tip of the character’s iceberg of ironies.) But
Ezekiel’s scenes only account for a mere part of protagonist
Ian’s (Josh Zuckerman) hopeless journey from Chicago to
Knoxville in search of a promised sex-filled night he will never
be able to see through. (Keep in mind that he’s hardly the
bench-pressing quarterback he pretends to be online, nor does he
know that his skanky Cinderella is who she says she is, either.)
Before Ian can get on his way, he must endure an outrageous
battle with his boisterously homophobic brother Rex (James
Marsden), who is going out of town for the weekend but would
rather die than have Ian steal his personal lover (his 1969 GTO)
while he’s away. Once Ian successfully jacks the GTO and hits
the road, he finds himself joined by two passengers. Good pal
Lance (Clark Duke) comes along to coach Ian on wooing women and
to throw in some crude-humor for good measure. And Felicia
(Amanda Crew), Ian’s real crush who he’s never been able to hook
up with in fear of fracturing their lifelong friendship, joins
not knowing the real reason why they’re Knoxville-bound.
Completely
goofy and somewhat disposable laughs ensue. Regardless of its
episodic structure and ultimate superfluous nature, however,
Sex Drive is a very funny movie to experience and deserves
seeking out based on laughs alone. But if chuckles aren’t
enough, the film also features a true breakthrough performance
by Amanda Crew that makes it worth seeing all the more. Even
though I’m a bit partial to Crew’s work because she’s so darn
attractive, the young Canadian actress boasts terrific
likability, comic timing, and downright voluptuousness
throughout Sex Drive, making for the perfect best
friend/one-that-got-away in a teen comedy and proving that she’s
got the acting-chops to go a long way in Hollywood. I had the
exact same feeling about Keira Knightley back when Bend it
like Beckham came out. Whatever one’s reason for seeing
Sex Drive—enjoyable laughs or star-in-the-making—the movie
will prove worth the price of admission. Not since (you guessed
it) Superbad have American moviegoers been treated to a
teen-comedy as funny and engaging as this one.
-Danny Baldwin, Bucket Reviews
Review Published on: 10.15.2008
Screened on: 7.25.2008 at the
Reading Gaslamp 15 in San Diego, CA
