License to Drive, 1988.
Directed by Greg Beeman.
Starring Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Heather Graham, Carol Kane, Richard Masur, Michael Manasseri and Nina Siemaszko.
SYNOPSIS:
A high school student hopes to impress his dream girl by getting his driver’s license, but when he fails the test he’s forced to take drastic action and steals his grandfather’s Cadillac, leading to disastrous consequences.
When you think of classic 80s comedies, chances are that License to Drive isn’t going to be one of the films that springs to mind, but if you’d asked my early-teens-self to pick a favourite, well… License to Drive wouldn’t have been the first to spring to mind then either. But top five… possibly. An early ‘vehicle’ (ba dum chhh) for ‘The Two Coreys’, the teen comedy-adventure marked the first pairing of Messrs Haim and Feldman post-The Lost Boys, and I must have seen it a good twenty or thirty times back in the day. So, when I heard License to Drive was finally coming to DVD here in the UK, I was excited about getting the chance to revisit the film after all these years, but also a little apprehensive. Time isn’t always kind to 80s films, and enough of my childhood favourites have already been exposed for what they truly are…
Although its billed as a ‘Two Coreys’ buddy movie, License to Drive is really Corey Haim’s show, with Haim leading the cast as Les [pronounced ‘Less’] Anderson – a high schooler desperate to get his hands on his driver’s license before the weekend so he can impress the local hot chick Mercedes Lane, portrayed by a young-but-doesn’t-really-look-any-different Heather Graham, in her first major role. Feldman on the other hand is basically playing the standard Corey Feldman ‘slightly annoying, fast-talking pal’ role alongside Michael Manasseri as Les’ two best friends, Dean and Charles, who also see Les’ drivers license as a ticket to getting the ladies.
And so, the stage is set for what could be the perfect weekend… until Les fails his driver’s exam and has to resort to stealing his grandfather’s prized Cadillac so he can take Mercedes out on a date. The plan works smoothly until Mercedes passes out drunk after dancing around the bonnet in her silhouettes, at which point Les makes the wrong move and calls upon his friends for assistance. Cue highly dangerous but generally light-hearted and inoffensive teen joyriding, as things rapidly spiral out of control.
Let’s face it, License to Drive was never a truly ‘great’ comedy, but it was cool, it was quotable, and it had a concept that every teenage boy could relate to: getting their hands on this mythical passport to freedom, the driver’s license, and taking a car (and a Mercedes) out for a ride. Okay, you can probably scratch some of the cool now (unless 80s retro is back in vogue), but apart from that it actually holds up pretty well indeed. Haim and Feldman are on top form together, while Carol Kane (Annie Hall) and Richard Masur (Risky Business) provide a good supporting double act as Les’ parents; Masur in particular has the on-the-edge movie dad down to a tee, and provides some of the film’s highlights. There’s also a decent selection of memorable bit-part characters – the pick of which comes from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Uncle Phil, James Avery, as a sadistic driving instructor who loves his coffee.
Despite running low on fuel towards the end, License to Drive is a solid enough effort that packs plenty of laughs and should still hold some appeal with today’s audiences. However, if like me, you already have fond memories of License to Drive, then I’d definitely recommend taking it out for another spin.
Flickering Myth Rating: Film ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
