Let's be realistic.

Best movie ever!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

80s teen comedy? Sure I'll give it a go. And I did. And I wouldn't recommend it. Ha! But at least it is educational. No, really! For example, did you know U-haul has a camper thing you can put on top of a midsize car? Yeah, that tripped me out. And tipping a tow-truck guy 70 dollars wasn't enough money back in the days? Heck, you can get away with giving them 100 bucks to let them drop your car. But yeah, everything else about this movie is a waste of time unless you've seen it before and want to relive your childhood. This 80s movie doesn't even do a good job as a time-capsule flick that gives you a feel for that moment in time. The mother and father are kind of funny. And there is a scene of them at an skating-to-car diner (or whatever that is called) but they are only there for five minutes so whatever. More or less this film is a bust.

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"!

..because seriously, they are nothing but trash, filth, sex, and farts nowadays ! I adore such a movie. It's a decent comedy, non-stop action, and centering on beating fear by facing its worst nightmares. It succeeds in every each way it goes, with fascinating sense of creativity.How can any comedy be smarter ? See for instance the character of the father apart; the way he celebrates his son's faultier as a driver and why, his scenes with the about-to-give-birth wife, and his threatening speech near the end. Just unforgettable. The thing about this movie is that it knows its characters and their lives, then could mix that with a lovely touch of craziness where everything you don't expect happens. So, it wins at being truthful and lively. This is one way to be a classic. Not by the heaviest amount of toilet humor !Despite being not highly charismatic Corey Haim was wonderful as the perturbed aghast and eager teen. Heather Graham was fabulous in pink, being every teen's dream back then (and look closer to her name; Mercedes Lane !). Loved her performance as always-happy unconscious drunk. The minor parts were done no less than excellent, even the drunken old driver. Then the best credit must go to that incredible climax; now the teen gets his full chance to drive outrageously by the approval of his parents, winning the recognition he dreamed of, achieving rescuing his mom and her baby on the nick of time, yet that itself was done in one outrageous piece of cinema. Again, this script is smart, smashing smart !It evoked many similar themes and atmospheres from the same era : the suburban teen who wants to challenge his fear, a ride of a lifetime in the city; John Hughes's Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), a hellish night of accumulative misunderstanding and funny circumstance; Adventures in Babysitting (1987). My conclusion : Is the 1980s cute or what ?Remember the moment in which the lead lives a cassette tape crises, where the thin brown strip explodes. Ahh, this is something only the audience born before the 1990s knows well, suffered from and laughs about. With CDs and else more advanced devises now, plus teen comedies that have become all about obscenity, you must think; does more development mean more degeneration ? or when things grow less complicated, other things grow more ugly ?Anyway, this is a teen comedy and decent classic. Now the 4 words don't meet together in one sentence at all !

License to Drive (1988) *** (out of 4) Even though he failed his driver's test, a teen (Corey Haim) decides to steal his grandfather's Cadillac because the girl of his dreams (Heather Graham) asked him out on a date. After picking up his two best friends (Corey Feldman, Michael Manasseri) they head out for what's suppose to be a good time but they hit one disaster after another. This was one of my favorite movies before I hit 16-years-old because it was always a fun movie to watch and fantasize about what my first day out with a driver's license would be like. Watching the film now I was a little surprised to see how well it stood up and especially by how many of the jokes still pack a lot of laughs. This movie was clearly made to get the two Corey's together and they do a terrific job but the main reason for this is that the screenplay is so spot on and smart in terms of what happens. I think the screenplay perfectly builds up that teen spirit of being a dork and wanting the most beautiful girl in school. It perfectly builds up all the fun stuff that one does when they get a car. It perfectly builds up the two friend characters who are constantly want to do more and more simply because they're not the ones who own the car. The performances in the films are extremely good with Haim doing a great job with the nerd role. That shyness and laid back style of his perfectly fits this character and it's really the perfect mix for all the craziness that's going on in the movie. Feldman, to no shock, plays the wilder one and the two of them blending their styles makes it easy to see why they were so popular together. Graham isn't too bad either as she gets quite a few good scenes. Another major plus is Richard Masur and Carol Kane who play Haim's parents. They are both perfect in their roles and really add a lot of great laughs and especially Masur who pretty much steals the film with his lovable bear type performance. The soundtrack is totally 80s with The Breakfast Club doing a cover of The Beatles' "Drive My Car" and we've got Billy Ocean's smash "Get Out of My Car" and even a couple Sinatra songs added for great effect. This film isn't an Oscar-winner and it will never be confused as one. It is a great throwback to the 80s with some extremely good performances and a winning screenplay and that alone makes it worth viewing.