Neighbors Nicole (Melissa Joan Hart) and Chase (Adrian Grenier) used to be friends, but now they run in different social circles. However, when Chase’s socially conscious girlfriend breaks up with him and Nicole’s crush falls for a cheerleader from another school, they team up to make their love interests jealous by pretending to date each other.
I cannot recall watching Drive Me Crazy before, though it’s possible I saw it in 1999 when it was released. There are only a few teen comedies from that era that I actually remember because only a few were memorable; the rest are your typical copycat.
In all honesty, I expected Drive Me Crazy to join the long list of forgettable teen rom-coms, but I was instead pleasantly surprised! I love fake dating stories, especially when there is a history between the two lead characters. Nicole and Chase grew up next door to one another. They were friends until a tragedy in Chase’s life caused Nicole to pull away.
Now Nicole is into the star athlete in school, and Chase is dating Dulcie (Ali Larter), a punky girl who is into social activism. Nicole and Chase believe that pretending to be a couple will catch the attention of Brad and Dulcie. We, of course, know better. Because even if their plan is successful, it will be too late, because Nicole and Chase will have caught feelings for each other.
I thought Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier played well off of one another. They had decent chemistry not only with each other but with the supporting cast surrounding them. There were no typical mean girls for Nicole to compete with, though that’s probably because that role was filled by Nicole’s supposed BFF, Alicia, played by Susan May Pratt. Alicia plays the supportive friend while being vindictive behind Nicole’s back.
Chase’s friends, David (Mark Webber) and Ray (Kris Park) aren’t entirely sure what to think of Chase when he shifts from slacker to Nicole’s preppy boyfriend. David wants to be accepted by the popular crowd himself, so he’s envious of Chase’s sudden social upgrade. Ray is less dramatic and seems more focused on his own crush on Nicole than anything else. It’s teenage drama at its best, yet still so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, as most teen angst is.
While I think Drive Me Crazy was attempting to show how wrong Brad and Dulcie were for Nicole and Chase, I’m not sure it succeeded, at least not in the way it may have wanted. Dulcie breaks up with Chase for not taking her interest in animal rights seriously. She is not an unlikable character. Not wanting to be with a guy who dismisses her passions is a legitimate excuse for breaking up, if you ask me.
And when she begins to observe how Chase is changing himself for Nicole, it concerns her, which tells us she does care about him. Even if it wasn’t intended, I appreciated that Dulcie wasn’t a stone-cold B-word in order to convince the audience that Chase should be with Nicole instead.
As for Brad, he doesn’t do anything wrong other than fall for another girl who seems nice enough. It’s Alicia who screws up that relationship, not Nicole. And Brad is probably the least interesting character in the movie. He’s bland with little character development or personality, so we honestly don’t care about him or Nicole’s crush.
My biggest pet peeve with this movie was I preferred Chase pre-transformation. There was nothing wrong with him. He had curly hair and comfortable clothes that fit with his personality. Then Nicole gets his hair straightened, cut, and slicked back, and he begins to dress in plain clothes you might find on a mannequin in front of some preppy department store. It’s boring. Here’s hoping Chase reverted to his true style without issue after the two finally ended the fake dating charade.
I’m nitpicking now, and I recognize that. Despite its flaws, I found Drive Me Crazy to be a cute movie. Grenier and Hart had decent enough chemistry to make me root for them. There were some genuinely funny moments, and who doesn’t love a school dance confession of love?
