11/21/06 Herbie Fully Loaded

Herbie Fully Loaded (2005), directed by Angela Robinson

watched w/ Leslie, Tim, Sarah, Rebecca, Mom & Dad; DVD (family's copy) @ parents' house (Southern Pines, NC)

Taking a much needed break off from work this week, with the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, Leslie & I decided to head down & visit with my family since we'd be going up to Pennsylvania to visit with her family for the holiday. Not only was this a chance for us to kick back & relax, spend quality time catching up with all my siblings (3) and parents (2) and pets (3). Full house, yes...and all kinds of chaos can ensue. One particular order of the chaos rears its ugly head in the form of sitting down to watch a lovely (see ridiculously painful) family film, so we can all share in my Challenge together. When put to a democratic vote (I was immediately ignored when I protested, beaten down by governmental force with my "outsider" opinions, and ultimately shunned to couchless vantage point to view the social debacle), the movie choice was soon to be a criticized political campaign after election. I demanded a recount, but no avail..."Herbie Fully Loaded" was chosen. Gone are the days of the lovable Disney ventures of the 60's, with the psychedelic Volkswagen Beetle with a comical mind of its own and goofy funnyman Buddy Hackett. Gone are the many zany sequels that endured, seeing Herbie not only "Ride Again," but sending him to "Monte Carlo," leading to his unfortunate case of going "Bananas," ultimately reincarnating himself with suave leadman Bruce Campbell in the driver seat in the 90's. Yes, gone are those lovably wacky treats...and here are the avoidable tacky bleeps of Lindsay Lohan's tragic career, directed by Robinson (of "D.E.B.S." fame). Lohan plays Maggie (who's strangely not all coked up or checking herself into rehab weekly like her real-life counterpart), a hot-rod teenager who's tried to give the wild race life up because of her father's (Michael Keaton) wishes for her safety. Pulled back into the adrenaline of the competition from pompous pro-racer Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon) and the egging-on of her best bud/geeky romantic interest (Justin Long, that Mac dude from the Mac vs. PC commercials), Maggie gets the help from a forgotten yet restored Herbie. It's a love/hate, give & take relationship that Maggie has with the car, but she soon realizes that they must work together as a team to make it & learn important life lessons. Now only if Lindsay's career could learn those same principles from a car in real life...perhaps I wouldn't have had to sit through this lackluster dud of a campy Herbie flick. Say what you want, but there will be no recount on these star ratings...and I was generous.

2 out of 5 stars