Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sex Drive DVD



DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: This Critic’s Pick as #1 Indie Released on DVD

Ian Lafferty (Josh Zuckerman) is your prototypical high school grad with one mission in life: to lose his virginity before heading off to college in the fall. But the 18 year-old nerd’s prospects of quenching his raging hormones aren’t that great since he’s awkward around girls, especially Felicia (Amanda Crew), the cute classmate he has a big crush on. Trouble is, she only sees him as a nice guy she can confide in about her own boy problems.
Secondly, Ian’s job as the mascot of a coffee shop tends to get in the way, because he spends most of the day walking around the mall disguised as a giant donut. And things aren’t any better for Ian at home, where he’s mercilessly teased for possibly being gay by his older brother, Rex (James Marsden), a macho stud with a classic Pontiac GTO from 1969. To add insult to injury, even his younger brother (Cole Peterson) is already having better luck with the ladies.
Ian’s fate seems to change the day he meets “Ms. Tasty” online, a blonde temptress who’s very impressed by his embellished bio and computer-enhanced photos. She promises to make it worth his while if he shows up in Knoxville behind the wheel of the muscle car he claims to drive. So, Ian “borrows” his brother’s GTO without permission, and sets out for Tennessee from Chicago accompanied by Felicia and his best friend, Lance (Clark Duke), for the 1,000-mile road trip of a lifetime.
Sometimes, getting there is all he fun, and this is the case with Sex Drive, this critic’s pick as the #1 independent film of 2008. (See http://www.kamwilliams.com/2008/12/10-best-no-100-best-films-of-2008.html ) En route to Ian’s romantic rendezvous with Ms. Tasty, our hardy trio has hilarious encounters at every turn, whether with a homeless hitchhiker, kinky trailer trash, trigger-happy cops or wayward Amish.
Brace yourself for outrageous fare ranging from politically-incorrect epithets to explicit dialogue to scatological humor to male and female frontal nudity. Yet, underneath all the scummy hijinks, there’s a redeeming message about true love waiting to be revealed, allowing for a sweet sendoff which manages to make Sex Drive very special for a shock comedy.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for crude humor, profanity, sexuality, nudity, and drug and alcohol use, all involving teens.
Running time: 109 minutes
Studio: Summit Entertainment
2-Disc DVD Extras: Theatrical and unrated versions of the film, audio commentary with the director, writer and producer, plus three featurettes.

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