Too embarrassed to admit that he failed his driving exam, a teenager is coaxed into taking a girl who he fancies and two friends out for a crazy night on the town in this Corey Haim and Corey Feldman comedy. Fresh from 'The Lost Boys', Haim is well cast as the nervous teen protagonist and it is fun to see Heather Graham younger than ever as Haim's girlfriend to-be. Amusing moments include the harsh driving test that James Avery makes Haim undergo and a drunk driver appropriating Haim's car. A number of jokes do, however, backfire - though the most underwhelming aspect of the film is that it never really reaches its potential. Having a passed-out Graham in the boot of the car could have easily been played for bigger laughs. The supporting characters are also not nearly as wacky and memorable as those in the slightly similar Keanu Reeves comedy 'The Night Before' or even 'After Hours' and 'Into the Night', to name a couple of other iconic nighttime mischief movies. The film is pretty lightweight on the message side of things too with the idea that Haim will learn more about how to drive in one crazy night than in a hundreds textbooks very obvious from the get-go. If one does not dig too deep into things though, 'License to Drive' is a largely enjoyable affair. Clocking in at under 90 minutes, it is very briskly paced to accurately reflect how overwhelming the seeming non-stop madness is for Haim. The film isn't scared of being zany either; just listen to what the DMV lady tells Haim not to do with them since they "can make your life a living hell"!
Review of License to Drive
