Many movies have been made that have featured teenagers.  Some of them have ended up being really good while others have turned out to be rather bad.  I recently found Drive Me Crazy on and decided to watch it.

Nicole Maris was very involved in planning the big Centennial Dance for her high school.  She was sort of part of the popular group and was certain that Brad, the star of the basketball team, was going to ask her to the dance even though they weren't involved.  She was very upset when he didn't ask her and she started plotting how she could make him regret it and keep herself from looking like a fool.

Nicole and Chase, her next door neighbor, use to be best friends but they grew apart as they got older and not moved in different circles.  He had been involved with Dulcie for a while, but things fell apart between them around the same time that Brad failed to ask Nicole out.  She came up with the idea that she and Chase should pretend to date to make Brad and Dulcie jealous.  Nicole even managed to convince Chase to start dressing and acting different.  

Drive Me Crazy had a fairly simple, straightforward plot.  There were a few elements that were slightly unique, but the movie was still predictable overall and I didn't feel like there were any surprises.  I did think that the movie still managed to be entertaining even though the plot wasn't that strong.  There were some attempts to add a subplot or two to what was going on, but they didn't go much of anywhere.

Basically everything that happened in Drive Me Crazy was connected to high school in some way.  The main plot  was mostly connected to the centennial dance at the high school.  I have seen the dance called a prom by others, and it did seem to be like a prom, but it technically wasn't the prom.  Some of the students were obsessed with the dance while others couldn't care less.  That seemed to be how it was with the prom when I was in high school.  A few different cliques were shown, and the way the people in them acted did seem realistic if slightly exaggerated at times.  Some of the kids were highly critical of anyone they perceived to be different, which does seem believable.

A few different relationships were featured in Drive Me Crazy.  Nicole was interested in Brad plotting to get him to ask her to the dance.  She was being a bit sneaky about it instead of just asking him if he was interested in dating her.  I don't think they had gone out at all when the movie started, but I could be wrong.  Once he didn't ask her to the dance, she decided she was going to make him jealous by pretending to date Chase.  It didn't make the most sense for her to try to make someone jealous who she hadn't been dating in my opinion.  Chase and Dulcie had been involved for a while, and they were shown making out around the school before she dumped him.  That made it seem very clear that they were sexually active though nothing much was shown.  There were a few sexual discussions that didn't get that graphic.  

The majority of the characters in Drive Me Crazy were teenagers who tended to fit into certain stereotypes.  The few adults that were shown, like Nicole's mom and Chase's dad, were only around in a couple of scenes and really had nothing to do.  I didn't feel like most of the teenager characters were that developed either.  Nicole was part of the cool crowd, obsessed with the dance and trying to make Brad jealous.  She did get a bit of depth later in the movie when she started to realize a few things.  I did think that Melissa Joan Hart was good in the part.  This movie was made while her television show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, was still very popular.  

Chase had a different group of friends who were more like the rebels or outsiders.  They were looked down on by the cool kids.  Chase went along with Nicole's idea, even going so far as to dress differently, because he thought it would ultimately help him get Dulcie back.  He seemed like a nice enough person.  Adrian Grenier was fine in the part.  Dulcie seemed to be very moody.  Everything in her relationship with Chase had to be on her terms.  She wasn't around as much, but she wasn't that likable.  Ali Larter was fine in the part.  

The other characters just seemed to be around without being that important to what was going on.  Really all that was shown about Brad was that he was popular and Nicole seemed to think he was the perfect guy.  Dee Vine had been overweight but reinvented herself so she could be one of the popular kids.  It seemed like the only reason she had lost weight was just so she could become popular.  

Main Cast

Adrian Grenier - Chase
Melissa Joan Hart - Nicole
Ali Larter - Dulcie

John Schultz - Director

I found Drive Me Crazy on one of the HBO channels I get when I watched it.  I believe it is also available on DVD.  Since I haven't seen the DVD, I have no idea what extras might be included on it.

Drive Me Crazy was entertaining, but nothing new or special.  Fans of the cast might find something to enjoy about the movie.

Recommended: Yes