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Sex
Drive The
formula for a teen sex comedy is fairly simple. Horny teen
needs to get laid. He and his crew have to drive far away
to accomplish this and they get into wacky trouble on the
way but our hero learns the true meaning of life. Or something
like that…
Sex
Drive is your typical teen sex comedy/road picture,
taking a little bit of American Pie, Weird Science
and The Sure Thing and following the formula to
a “T.”
Some
could argue that Sex Drive is nothing but a rip
off of a lot of the popular teen movies of the last few
years and others could argue that it’s nothing more
than homage. Like any film with a formula, you can forgive
the pattern if the execution is handled creatively and the
delivery is fresh. Sex Drive does just that and
luckily for me, I really enjoy the teen sex comedy in all
its forms, and the movie excels at the genre to turn in
a really fun, funny and enjoyably sweet entry.
Sex
Drive is the story of poor suburban virgin Ian. Ian
has a bedroom very reminiscent of Jason Biggs’ bedroom
from the American Pie movies and he even has an
internet girlfriend known only as Ms. Tasty.
Ian
fantasizes about losing his innocence to Ms. Tasty and even
loses a little of something else in a nocturnal endeavor
while dreaming. This would be the awkward sexual embarrassment
part of the teen comedy that American Pie and so
many others have made a staple for these films. Amp up the
awkwardness by throwing in Ian’s obnoxious older brother,
Rex, (who is essentially a stand in for Bill Paxton’s
Chet from Weird Science) who is constantly bullying
poor Ian for his lack of masculinity, and you’ve got
your self one heck of a typical teen movie household.
Rex
is the proud owner of a 69 Pontiac GTO, also known as the
Judge. He of course values his car more than he does his
brother and of course we now have another plot device borrowed
from such teen movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off and Risky Business.
Ian has a best friend and cohort in the
super confident lady killer Lance. Lance isn’t necessarily
the best looking dude, but he has a way with the ladies
and he’s popular. Lance is the little voice in Ian’s
ear, the devil on his shoulder and the model for all Ian
thinks he wants to be.
The angel on Ian’s shoulder is Felicia.
She’s anything but the cookie cutter cheerleader type
and of course she’s Ian’s lifelong BFF. She
has a crush on somebody Ian knows, but she however, knows
nothing about Ms. Tasty.
When Ms. Tasty instant messages Ian about
finally meeting, the promise of sex is guaranteed and so
begins the quest for our young protagonist.
The rest of the movie plays out how you’d
expect but like most good stories it’s not about the
destination it’s about the journey.
Sex
Drive takes the normal premises of most teen sex comedies
and finds new, untapped gags that are fresh and funny, yet
still remind us of the undeniable embarrassing truths of
adolescence. The humor is typical gross out sex comedy,
but it’s handled in such an honest and tender enough
way that you can’t help but feel and share the awkwardness.
All our main characters are outcasts and
dealing with their own problems. Once one dimensional arch
types of the teen comedy they now have some depth and the
B story gets a little more interesting.
Sex
Drive is a raunchy and dirty teen sex comedy, but it’s
also sweet and handles the teen problems with a sensitivity
that makes us sympathize with our protagonist and root for
him all the way.
The
characters in Sex Drive are all likable. The main
trio, Ian (Josh Zuckerman), Lance (Clark Duke) and Felicia
(Amanda Crew) are relative unknowns and they fit together
as the motley crew on a diluted mission. James Mardsen (X-Men,
Superman Returns) is fantastic as Rex. He’s rude,
lewd and crude and perfect as the foil to Ian’s schemes.
Also good is teen sex comedy staple, Seth Green (Can’t
Hardly Wait, Idle Hands, Robot Chicken) as unlikely
Amish ally Ezekiel.
Based
on the novel All the Way by Andy Behrens, the skeleton
of Sex Drive’s plot is thin. However, it’s
the meat that screenwriters Sean Anders and John Morris
tack on in the form of scary hitchhikers, new step-moms,
mid-west hook ups and Amish life that keep the film moving
and full of laughs.
Sex
Drive is a satisfying entry into the pantheon of the
genre. Its fun, has good characters, and lots and lots of
laughs. Oh yeah, and gratuitous sex and nudity. That right
there should be enough, but if it isn’t, how about
you just imagine it as American Ferris Science’s
Super Bad Pie’s Day Off?
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