Sex DriveMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Sex Drive."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 49 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 67
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    Seth Green is uproarious as an Amish farmer who speaks in sentences so passive-aggressive, they're like tiny slaps. Read full review

  • 63
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Three things and three things only keep Sex Drive from being teen-comedy landfill. The first is James Marsden, hilarious as the hero's bully-boy big brother. The second is Seth Green, beyond droll as an Amishman with attitude. The third is the Mexican doughnut costume. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post |

    The movie is pulled along mostly by James Marsden's cheerfully over-the-top performance as Ian's homophobic older brother, but Josh Zuckerman does a nice job of keeping Ian likable. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle |

    Some jokes work, some don't and, frankly, I can't remember either, but it leaves a sweet aftertaste. Slight, but sweet. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times |

    Occasionally sharp but never quite as smartly formed as it could be, this Sex Drive is only partly worth the trip. Read full review

  • 50
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    This movie doesn't contain "offensive language." The offensive language contains the movie. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    The sweetheart leads, Josh Zuckerman and Amanda Crew, are easy to spend time with, and Seth Green as an Amish hipster and Clark Duke as an unlikely lady-killer hit every sweet-and-sardonic note with panache. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Sex Drive does not fully satisfy our comic desires. Read full review

  • 40
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Less sex comedy and more Seth comedy would have made for a much livelier excursion. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    Since the new pic contains little that's genuinely amusing or minimally original, it likely will fail on its own merits. Read full review

View more reviews for Sex Drive on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Vulgar teen sex comedy lacks verve and vision.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this hard-R high school sex comedy -- which is squarely aimed at teens -- is "Judd Apatow lite," meaning that it has all the crassness of Apatow's comedies but not nearly as much heart or brilliance. It centers around a high school senior who's fixed on losing his virginity with the help of a girl he met on the Internet. The road trip to see her is pockmarked with one over-the-top sequence after the next, many of which feature nudity, graphic discussions of sex acts, sex toys, and more. There's also plenty of underage drinking and lots of swearing (including "f--k").
  • Families can talk about the consequences of underage drinking. How realistic is what happens to the teen characters in this movie? What do you think would happen to them in real life if they got drunk? Families can also discuss whether the film portrays teens -- and, by extension, teen life -- accurately? If so, how? What issues does the film address? Was Ian's decision to drive so far to tryst with a stranger adventurous or foolhardy? What about his intent pursuit of losing his virginity? Why is it so important to him? Is that realistic?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Teens have sex with complete strangers, though it's worth noting that they're also shown shopping for condoms. Friends are loyal to one another, even when their bonds are tested. Parents seem downright invisible. Some sexist and homophobic jokes.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: A man in a truck tries to mow down a naked teenager he catches having sex with his wife. Lots of yelling. Two brothers can't seem to stop fighting; the older one likes to beat up on the younger. Gunshots are fired, and a gun is brandished.
  • sex false5 Sex: Characters listen in on others having sex; bare breasts are exposed, as well as a man's testes. Lots of talk about sex: how to have it, what makes it fun. The film opens with a teenager having a dream about someone performing a sex act on him (oral sex is implied). A sex toy features prominently in one scene. Online sex chats are shown onscreen. Characters hook up with strangers, some of whom are married.
  • language false4 Language: Frequent and crude; includes everything from "bitch" and "goddamn" to "c--ksucker" and "f--k."
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Mentions of Trapper Keeper notebooks and other products, plus logos for Lifestyles condoms, Pontiac GTO, Vans shoes, and Senor Donut.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Loads of teenage drinking, often to excess. Little discussion of the consequences, including drinking and driving. Some allusions to drug use.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Dave White

4.5

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Sex Drive Movie Ratings + Reviews

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