Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
105 mins
Likeable, frequently hilarious teen comedy that's like an updated version of The Sure Thing, crossed with Road Trip and American Pie.
What's it all about?
Written and directed by Sean Anders, Sex Drive stars Josh Zuckerman as 18-year-old virgin Ian Lafferty, who's determined to lose his virginity before he heads off to college. Turning to the internet, he scores a date with scorching hot blonde MsTasty (30 Rock's Katrina Bowden) and accepts an invitation to hook up with her in Knoxville.
The only problem is that Knoxville is almost 500 miles away, so Ian steals his obnoxious brother Rex's (James Marsden) vintage Pontiac GTO and sets off on the road trip of a lifetime, accompanied by his two best friends, wisecracking ladies man Lance (Clark Duke, from Greek) and platonic dreamgirl Felicia (Amanda Crew). Needless to say, nothing goes entirely according to plan and the trio soon find themselves fleeing angry cuckolded husbands, spending time in jail and throwing themselves on the mercy of a kindly Amish mechanic (Seth Green) when their car breaks down.
The Good
Writer-director Sean Anders' script expertly blends the road trip-slash-romance plot of comedy classic The Sure Thing (itself an update of 1935's It Happened One Night) with the edgier gross-out comedy style of films like Road Trip and American Pie. As such, there are several laugh-out-loud moments and while the eventual romantic outcome may be predictable, you still end up rooting for Ian to succeed.
The Great
The cast are superb. Zuckerman makes a likeable lead, while Crew is both gorgeous and effortlessly cool as Felicia. However, the film's biggest laughs are split three ways; Clark Duke is hilarious as Lance, while James Marsden is amusingly cast against type (and seems to be channelling Seann William Scott) as Rex and Seth Green is both weird and brilliant as Ezekiel ("Well, good luck with the future ride, spaceman!").
Worth seeing?
In short, Sex Drive is a hugely enjoyable teen comedy, thanks to likeable comic performances, offbeat characters and a decent script that delivers plenty of laughs. Recommended.