Sex Drive (film)

Sex Drive

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sean Anders
Produced by Bob Levy
Leslie Morgenstein
John Morris
Michael Nelson
Screenplay by Sean Anders
John Morris
Based on All the Way
by Andy Behrens
Starring Josh Zuckerman
Amanda Crew
Clark Duke
Seth Green
James Marsden
Music by Stephen Trask
Cinematography Tim Orr
Edited by George Folsey Jr.
Production
company
Distributed by Summit Entertainment
Release dates
  • October 17, 2008 (2008-10-17)
Running time
 109 minutes[1]
130 minutes (Unrated cut)
Country United States
Language English
Budget $19 million[2]
Box office $18,755,936[2]

Sex Drive is a 2008 sex comedy film about a high school graduate who goes on a cross-country road trip to hook up with a girl he met online. It is based on the young adult novel All the Way by American author Andy Behrens.[3] The film was directed by Sean Anders, and stars Josh Zuckerman, Amanda Crew, Clark Duke, Seth Green, and James Marsden, while Katrina Bowden, Alice Greczyn, Michael Cudlitz, Dave Sheridan, and David Koechner appear in supporting roles. It was released in North America on October 17, 2008, and in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2009.

Plot

Ian Lafferty (Josh Zuckerman) is an 18-year-old recent high school graduate. He searches for a girl online making it seem as if he is attractive and strong, although he's sweet and unassuming. He soon meets "Ms. Tasty" (Katrina Bowden) and agrees to meet her in person. She lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, while he lives in Chicago, Illinois. With his best friends Lance Nesbitt (Clark Duke) and Felicia Alpine (Amanda Crew), he goes to Knoxville in a 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge borrowed without permission from Ian's arrogant homophobic older brother Rex (James Marsden).

On the way to Knoxville, they come across a hitchhiker (David Koechner), as the radiator in the Judge overheats. They attempt urinating in the radiator, which only works briefly as they try to leave the hitchhiker in the dust. The hitchhiker, frustrated at Ian's lack of concern for his well being, leaves, but not before urinating on the car window. As Ian and Felicia wander to find help, Lance is waiting with the car as Ezekiel (Seth Green) happens to pass by in his horse-drawn buggy. Ezekiel and his Amish buddies repair the car while they join a Rumspringa party where Fall Out Boy are playing a concert, and at which Lance meets an attractive Amish girl, Mary (Alice Greczyn). The three promise to come again on the way back to do some work in return for fixing the car.

They go to jail due to Ian throwing a tire iron into a state trooper car, due to his increasing frustration after trying to put a possum he hit out of its misery, and are released after Mary pays the bail. Upon arriving in Knoxville, they find a hotel that sports a wide variety of role playing rooms. Rex, who has discovered the Judge missing, arrives angrily and insists that they go back and that Ian cannot visit Ms. Tasty. After Ian pretends to be gay, Rex allows him to see Ms. Tasty, hoping this encounter will change Ian's mind. Ian finally meets Ms. Tasty. However, when he tells her about Felicia, her seduction of Ian becomes a threat as her psychotic boyfriend Bobby Jo (Dave Sheridan) puts a gun to Ian's head. It becomes apparent that they work at a chop shop and attempt to steal the Judge.

Lance and Mary arrive after having sex, as well as a redneck named Rick (Michael Cudlitz) whose girlfriend Brandy (Andrea Anders) slept with Lance earlier. Felicia, however, is hiding in the car when Bobby Jo tries to steal it. Soon, a green car that has been continuously drag-racing with the Judge throughout the movie arrives. Ian manages to save Felicia, who then is able to run off and report to the police. Ms. Tasty tries to escape, but is stopped by the green car, whose drivers turn out to be Andy and Randy (Charlie McDermott and Mark L. Young), two dim-witted self-declared "womanizers" from Ian's school, who Ms. Tasty tried to manipulate into giving her the car. Bobby Jo is treated after being shot by Ian in self-defense. Felicia tells the police about the chop shop location and the couple is arrested.

Upon finding out that if Mary leaves the Amish community, she will be shunned, Lance refuses to come back home and stays behind to marry Mary, while Ian and Felicia realize their love for each other. Ian and Felicia drive to a tree where Ian throws his shoes up into the tree. A few weeks later Ian is Felicia's date to her cousin's wedding. At Thanksgiving dinner, Rex tells his family that he's gay. On New Year's Eve Ian and Felicia finally have sex, in Ian's basement under a blanket on the sofa. In the final frame of the film, a picture is shown of Lance and Mary getting married, accompanied by Ian. Lance is shown sporting a beard exactly like Ezekiel's. During the credits, a short scene shows Ezekiel and Fall Out Boy arguing over the fact that the Amish fixed Fall Out Boy's tour bus for just "a five song set" in form for compensation, referring to a running gag throughout the movie.

Cast

Soundtrack

Reception

Box office

Sex Drive grossed $3.6 million opening weekend, finishing in 9th place. It went on to gross $8.4 million in the United States and $10.4 million in other countries, for a total gross of $18.8 million, against its $19 million budget, making it a box office bomb.

Critical response

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 110 reviews, 45% of the critics had given the film a positive review.[4] On Metacritic the film got a score of 49 from 24 critics, marking "mixed to average" reviews.

Home release

The film was released on 2-disc DVD and Blu-ray Disc February 24, 2009, both featuring the rated and unrated cuts of the film. Preceding the unrated cut, an intro by director Anders and some members of the cast explaining that the unrated cut is a "fan's cut" and to watch the original theatrical cut before viewing the unrated version. The cut features an additional 20 minutes of footage, including more profanity (about 20 additional uses of the F-word), and a topless woman running across a few random scenes.

References

  1. ↑ "SEX DRIVE (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  2. 1 2 "Sex Drive (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  3. ↑ Robinson, Tasha (October 17, 2008). "Q&A with Andy Behrens, the author behind 'Sex Drive'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 22, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Sex Drive (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 22, 2009.
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