License to Drive

1988 "Some guys get all the brakes!"
6.3| 1h30m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 06 July 1988 Released
Producted By: 20th Century Fox
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Teenager Les Anderson thinks his life can't get any worse after he flunks his driver's exam, but he's wrong. Even though he didn't receive his license, Les refuses to break his date with the cool Mercedes Lane, and he decides to lift his family's prize luxury car for the occasion. Unfortunately, Mercedes sneaks some booze along and passes out drunk, and a confused Les makes the bad decision of enlisting his rebellious friend, Dean, to help.

Genre

Comedy, Family

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Director

Greg Beeman

Production Companies

20th Century Fox

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License to Drive Audience Reviews

TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film
AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
Ian (Flash Review)The best way to impress the high school hottie in the 80's was with a set of wheels and, hopefully, a license to drive. Les doesn't take his driver's exam seriously enough and fails at his first attempt. With a date lined up with a cute high school girl (appropriately named as Mercedes), how will he drive her around on the date without his license? One can guess what he does and how nervous he gets taking his parent's car without permission. What mischief will ensue? How will the date go? With a double dose of Corey's, Haim and Feldmen, you get the most popular late 80's high school due together with some good 80's dialog zingers as well as some great car scenes that are reminiscent of American Graffiti. There are many memorable and amusing scenes that are pure 80's. Relive the 80's in style with this movie as well as Uncle Phil from the Fresh Prince as the intimidating driving instructor!
sol- 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"!
Tango and Cash Hey, I like a cheesy 80s movie as much as the next guy, but this one was hard to watch. Compare this scenario with another Feldman-Haim movie, "The Lost Boys". Though not a comedy, "Lost Boys" is much, much more funny than the explicitly comedic "License." The latter movie telegraphs its jokes and plot twists from a mile away, while the former movie is far more sophisticated and original. Maybe that's it though - "License" is so cliché (not that that's necessarily a bad thing) that the laughs are corny while "Lost Boys" has an originality and freshness that delivers funny dialogue AND funny situations.I tell ya, it was hard to watch. Some scenes are so bad they're cringeworthy. The "Mercedes" line in the final minutes of the movie made me throw up a little bit in the back of my throat.And yeah, the dad is the dog-keeper guy from "The Thing." I knew I recognized him, but couldn't place him. A quick IMDb search got that all straightened out.
hellraiser7 One of the best things about being a teen was no doubt having the opportunity to learn to drive. Driving for the teen meant the freedom to go where ever you wanted or needed to go, any time you want. But also for most it was a ticket to being cool. This is an 80's gem that I like and is a gem that has driven under the radar, it's not to say it wasn't popular for it's time but like certain vintage cars it became forgotten.There really not much to say, I really like the plot it's a simple no nonsense plot which is what I like about comedies. Yeah there is absurdity but that's part of what makes it funny. The music soundtrack I think is really good, I like the end credit theme song from Billy Ocean "Out of my Dreams" which is one of my personal favorite 80's songs.I really like the two Corries, shame both couldn't of kept up on the high end of their carriers, but oh well. Corey Halm whom sadly is no longer with us is great, I've always liked this actor he can do both comedic and serious roles. But anyway I like his character Les Anderson whom is a typical geek that is on a quest to be cool and to get the girl, is ill confidant always struggling to prevent disappointment and being uncool. Dean by Corey Feldman is great, his character just cracks me up, he has some of the best lines in the film my favorite was that speech he gave which is both funny but kinda true at the same time about life. His character is also on the same quest as Les but he is a little more confidant, and a person that is more loose and a bit wild.The adventures with the car are fun, fast paced and hilarious, it's pretty random what these characters run into. I don't want to give too much away, but my favorites are the infamous jump toward the Shaky's Pizza place (damn I miss that restaurant) and the solid car chase for the drunk driver.Though I think what really makes this comedy stand out is on it's emphasize and sympathy factor. Les's predicaments are both funny and a little sad at the same time because most of us have been there, or have felt it. From Les taking that drivers test and under pressure of failing. The threat of getting busted by your parents for something you know you shouldn't do, which results in Les saying my favorite line "I"m so dead, their going to have to bury me twice." yeah I sometimes thought those words from time to time. But just simply the desire for the first time to taste freedom, to not just be cool but feel cool, as well as just to simply drive.Overall "License to Drive" has plenty of millage for fun which makes it worth a test drive.Rating: 3 stars