10 Terrible Movies That Were Actually Groundbreaking

8. Sex Drive Pioneered On-Screen Texting

Jason X
Summit Entertainment

Sex Drive came and went in 2008 without making much of a dent, flopping both critically and commercially, and in turn joining the glut of sex comedies attempting to fashion themselves as the next American Pie, Eurotrip, or Superbad.

But credit must also be given where credit is due, because while on the surface it doesn't appear to offer up any filmmaking innovations whatsoever, Sex Drive was the first movie to utilise a stylistic flourish that's now extremely common.

It was the first film of note to use animated graphics to show characters texting one another, with protagonist Ian's (Josh Zuckerman) text messages often being typed up on-screen in real-time just as he's writing them.

It seems like such a simple, even quaint technique in a modern era where it's absolutely commonplace, yet 15 years ago it was practically unheard of.

So here's to you, Sex Drive - you may be a bad movie, but your legacy is cemented in changing how cinema depicted texting forever more.

In this post: 
Jason X
 
First Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.