License to Drive (PG-13)

An innocent girl. A harmless drive. What could possibly go wrong? That classic phrase was uttered by teen heartthrob Corey Haim in the 1988 summer blockbuster “License to Drive.”

Haim and co-star Corey Feldman would dominate the minds of teenage girls in the late ’80s. Collectively known as The Two Corey’s, the pair would appear in three popular movies together in the latter half of the decade, with “Drive” being sandwiched between “The Lost Boys” (1987) and “Dream a Little Dream” (1989). With highly suspect acting, the result is Hollywood pushing the duo on teen girls in the summer of ’88.

“License to Drive” is divided into two parts by the line used to start this review. The first half of the movie is the cartoonish depiction of Les Anderson (Haim) thirsting for freedom as he preps for and takes his drivers test. Les is something of a slacker as he is shown falling asleep in drivers ed and not taking his road test preparation with any degree of seriousness. He is also an unpopular no-one at the school, complete with the hots for the beautiful Mercedes Lane (Heather Graham in her big screen debut). Les comes from a typical suburban family which includes his comical father (the great Richard Masur) pregnant mother (Carol Kane) and competitive twin sister Natalie (Nina Siemaszko).

To annoy her much older boyfriend Paolo, Mercedes agrees to go on date with Les. Les agrees to the date with the assumption he will be passing his road test the day before. He also begs his father for permission to drive the classic Cadillac that’s in the garage. “First get your license, then we’ll talk.” Mr. Anderson sternly advises.

When Les flunks his test, he is forced to sneak out for his date (the second act of the movie). He steals the car, setting up for a laundry list of absurd hi-jinx that will follow for the rest of the night.

“License to Drive” is quite similar to the movie “Trojan War,” (which came out nearly a decade later) but is not nearly as good. The main difference – and what makes “War” a far better film – is the drawn out first act. “Drive” starts out slow, taking time to set up the plot when in reality, everyone already knows what is going to happen and is simply waiting for the grounded Les to steal the car and go on his adventure.

“Drive” also misses in its failure to further develop secondary characters like Les’ sister Natalie and her hysterical communist boyfriend Karl (Grant Heslov). Unlike “Trojan War,” “License to Drive” also lacks a defined and logical antagonist, with some sloppily written in afterthoughts serving as Les’ rivals.

Where “Drive” succeeds is its countless laughs and carefree appeal. From Les’ dictator like drivers ed instructor (James Avery in a pre Fresh Price of Bel-Air role) who determines if you pass or fail by whether or not his cup of smoldering hot coffee spills, to fellow slacker friend Dean (Feldman) who constantly encourages the more reluctant Les like a devil appearing on his shoulder. Les freaks out about a minor scratch on the car Dean chastises that no one will even notice. “Your dads a forty year old guy with glasses, not an eagle.”

Haim himself makes for an effective and somewhat sympathetic character. He is a typical teenage boy who wants nothing more than to get his drivers license and cruise with the girl of his dreams. From his Mercedes Lane mixed tape – which is promptly eaten by the car’s tape player forcing him to use his grandfathers Frank Sinatra hits tape which in turns serves as a defacto soundtrack for the rest of the film – to his own humorous lines as someone caught up in uncontrollable circumstances. “I’m so dead they’re going to have to bury me twice.”

“License to Drive” is far from perfect, but makes for an enjoyable lazy summer eve watch.

by – Matt Christopher