Before (and after) TV made them stars

Even though I bought it years ago on DVD (at Target for $5 so shut up), if DRIVE ME CRAZY is on TV, I'm watching it. As a connoisseur of the genre, I'll tell you that this underrated teen comedy falls somewhere between SHE’S ALL THAT and 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. How have those involved fared since DRIVE ME CRAZY was released in 1999? Somewhere between FREDDIE and BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. Some of them got started on TV. Some of them are now TV stars. Some of them don’t work much. Let’s take a look!

MELISSA JOAN HART was the title characters on the sitcoms CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL (brilliant!) and SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH (not-so-brilliant). After playing DMC’s Type-A Nicole, she squeezed the last drop of entertainment value out of SABRINA and added director to her resume, helming episodes of the teen shows TANIA and SO WEIRD (starring, ahem, Alexz Johnson).

Like Hart, STEPHEN COLLINS was well-known from TV before playing her deadbeat dad. Since the death of his inexplicably long-running series 7TH HEAVEN, he has mostly stuck to appearing in films, but he did make a hilarious guest appearance last season on IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA.

Dreamy boy-next-door Chase (ADRIAN GRENIER) has also made forays into directing and films, but is now famous for playing coincidentally-named movie star Vincent Chase on HBO’s critically acclaimed comedy ENTOURAGE.

Of the supporting cast, HEROES star ALI LARTER is probably the most well known, but LOURDES BENDICTO played slain bank teller Eva on ABC’s short-lived THE NINE and after appearing on JACK & BOBBY, KERI LYNN PRATT had recurring roles last season on BROTHERS & SISTERS and VERONICA MARS (as the slutty sorority girl who seduced Patty Hearst). Also last season, Pratt’s boorish boyfriend JORDAN BRIDGES was a regular on CONVICTION and snooty KERAM MALICKI-SANCHEZ had a recurring role on THE L WORD.

And who wrote DMC? Drumroll, please. VERONICA MARS creator ROB THOMAS. Is it any wonder that the only fault I find in the film is in the execution and not the smart, quippy script?