Jennifer Love Hewitt on Where Her ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’ Character Would Be Today
It’s been 20 years since Can’t Hardly Wait first hit theaters, which means the characters, who had just graduated high school when we saw them last, would now be in their late 30s, maybe with kids (or teenagers!) of their own. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who starred as prom queen Amanda Beckett, has an idea of where her alter ego might be if we checked in on her in 2018 — and it’s not what we expected.
In the teen rom-com, newly single Amanda shows up at a big graduation party after being dumped by her boyfriend, quarterback Mike Dexter (Peter Facinelli). Everyone who’s anyone is there, including Preston Meyers (Ethan Embry), a sweet boy-next-door type who’s been pining for Amanda since the first day he met her. After a series of mishaps and missed connections, Preston confesses his feelings in a romantic letter, which leads to them getting together right as he’s about to head off to college.
So, where would Amanda be today? Is she still with Preston? “I think she’s one of the [Real] Housewives,” Hewitt joked to Entertainment Tonight. “That’s my goal for her.” To clarify, though, that’s not something Hewitt is aiming for personally. “No, we’ll keep that with Amanda,” she quipped.
In addition to Hewitt, Embry, and Facinelli, the film featured Seth Green (as Kenny Fisher), Lauren Ambrose (as Denise Fleming), and Melissa Joan Hart (as Vicki, the overeager yearbook girl). Jason Segel, Jaime Pressly, Donald Faison, Selma Blair, Jenna Elfman, Jerry O’Connell, Sean Patrick Thomas, Clea DuVall, and Breckin Meyer also had small parts in the movie.
“I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is like our generation’s version of Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles and all of those iconic movies that you just love,'” Hewitt told ET at the summer Television Critics Association press tour on Thursday, August 2.
“It was really fun,” she continued. “I got to be with Seth again, who I had known from doing stuff, and Breckin and everybody, it was just great.”
Where do you think the other Can’t Hardly Wait characters would be today? Let us know @BritandCo!
(photo via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
