That’s the thing I love about teen sex comedies, the sheer fantasy element where in the main character’s environment is filled with busty, skinny, hot girls in every single place imaginable. I mean they practically live in the Amazon for Christ sake. This is a world where even the frumpy best friend who secretly likes our protagonist is very good looking in spite of the makeup artists best efforts to make them look very plain and unattractive (it doesn’t work, Amanda Crews is mind blowing). You never see seventy year olds or obese women walking the halls of the mall our hero Ian works in, so naturally “Sex Drive” was a fun little comedy to sit through, because it honestly doesn’t try to be anything more than a high energy time waster.
Implementing the talents of folks like Clark Duke, and James Marsden (who is practically unrecognizable here), “Sex Drive” is yet another yarn about an internet love connection that will inevitably have to break down all illusions and get real. And our hero Ian and his friends take a road trip! In spite of being stuck in the doldrums of the typical road trip flick every now and then, Sean Anders’ comedy manages to be very engrossing with some rather interesting characters particularly Lance who by all accounts would be the frumpy geeky friend but his own confidence and enthusiasm sees him in every sexual situation imaginable including a hilarious instance where he and a girl in a trailer experiment with many sexual techniques that results in a disastrous chase sequence. The whole point to “Sex Drive” is not about a guy looking attractive but the way he perceives himself which is why Lance is always in a compromising situation while Ian is stuck watching everyone else experience life and sexual fulfillment.
With cameos from comedy heavyweights like Seth Green (as a sarcastic Amish mechanic), David Koechner (obligatory psychotic hitchhiker), and Brian Posehn (obligatory rude carnie), “Sex Drive” is never boring with some genuinely humorous moments and zingers that will keep viewers recollecting a “rolling brown out,” the abstinence rally, and the epic cat fight in the climax set to “I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore.” Anders’ film is a classic teen romp that is never afraid to get utterly ridiculous while pulling in some excellent laughs from a cast of primo talent who deliver every gag and barb with dead pan brilliance. Clark Duke basically steals the show on many occasions, but Marsden destroys his pretty boy humility with this spastic machismo fueled bully a la Bill Paxton in “Weird Science” who proves to be a constant obstacle in character Ian’s journey for self-discovery and coming of age.
Josh Zuckerman is very likable in this role as a guy who either has to stick to his guns and risk being alone, or completely dehumanize himself just to get laid. Amanda Crews’s understated sexiness and dead pan straight man role works well off of Ian and Lance’s hijinks as she manages to also engage in a coming of age experience. Along the way we get the same old gags including a high speed chase, run ins with police officers, wacky locals and a hilarious misunderstanding in the second half, but I had a blast and I was laughing louder than the movie. This is a great time I wasn’t afraid to sit back and relax with. Sure in essence it’s formula and pretty much just a romantic comedy, but “Sex Drive” is a sex fueled hilarious teen comedy/road flick with great performances, a sharp script, and raucous laughs for anyone seeking a ridiculously fun two hours without those downfalls like plot, and brains, and logic.