Movie Review: License To Drive (1988)

A teen adventure comedy, License To Drive is much better than it needs to be thanks to a sympathetic Corey Haim performance and a sharp script.

16 year old high school student Les (Haim) can't wait to get his driver's license in order to impress his alluring classmate Mercedes (Heather Graham). Les' Dad (Richard Masur) and pregnant Mom (Carol Kane) fully expect him to pass his driving test at the first attempt, as do his friends Dean (Corey Feldman) and Charles (Michael Manasseri). Despite acing the driving portion of the exam, Les flunks the computer test.

Unable to deal with the humiliation of failure, Les conveniently forgets to tell his friends that he still does not have a license. Instead he smuggles his grandfather's blue Cadillac out of the garage when his parents are sleeping, and embarks on a date with Mercedes, which extends to a joyride session with Dean and Charles. Mercedes is soon consuming too much alcohol, while Dean eggs Les on towards more adventures with unexpected consequences.

A star-making vehicle for Haim, who really was 16 years old, License To Drive captures the young actor at his peak and helped to propel "the two Coreys" to the height of teenage stardom. It would all end in drug-drenched tragedy for Haim, but here his instinctive talent and easy screen charisma are fully on display, and undeniable. He lifts what would otherwise be a routine teen flick to an enjoyable romp through a combination of mischievous innocence and adorable winks at the audience.

Director Greg Beeman wisely recognizes the talent at his disposal and makes the film all about Les. The would-be romance with Mercedes, the spiky friendships with Dean and Charles, the awkward relationship with slightly goofy parents and the relentless pursuit of a driver's license all start and end with Les in the middle of his own world.

In what is essentially a slightly less dangerous version of Risky Business, all of Les' adventures are also patchy, underdeveloped and sometimes icky, including resolutions where Mercedes ends us passed out drunk, stuffed in the trunk of a car and then exploited by Dean as he takes revealing pictures. In 1988 these events were still considered somehow funny for a teen-oriented comedy film.

Helping the film rise above forgettable is a stronger than usual supporting cast bringing the secondary cast to life. This was Graham's first credited screen role and she shines as the unattainable high school crush who is suddenly available. Richard Masur and Carol Kane ensure that Les' parents are more quirky than usual, while Feldman and Manasseri are believable as the friends who make sure trouble is around every antic.

License To Drive exploits the unspoken joke that licensed or not, Les is a naturally talented ace driver behind the wheel of that Cadillac. The film finds the fun it seeks riding along with its young star, but in retrospect is tinged with the sadness of a talent lost too soon.

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Movie Review: Murphy's Romance (1985)

A simple love story, Murphy's Romance delivers vanilla entertainment in a wholesome package that alternates between old-fashioned and trite. Sally Field and James Garner are more about comfort than passion, two pros delivering proficient performances without ever stretching.

Thirty-something single-mom Emma (Field) and her son Jake (Corey Haim) have been buffeted by life, and drive up to a small rural Arizona town to attempt another new start. Resourceful and independent but struggling to secure a bank loan, Emma meets widower Murphy Jones (Garner), nominally the local grocery store owner but also the heart and soul of the town. Full of wisdom and edgy serenity, Murphy lives according to his own rules, and everyone respects him for it.

Murphy, who is much older than Emma but never reveals his age, gives her a helping hand to launch a business caring for horses, and they start to get close. But when Emma's ex-husband Bobby Jack (Brian Kerwin) shows up broke and looking to leech off Emma's fledgling success, Murphy realizes that he has competition in his languid pursuit of Emma's heart.

Murphy's Romance is nothing if not pleasant, an amiable Winter - Summer relationship that builds up at a slow but enjoyable pace. But despite all the personality offered by Field and Garner, there is no hiding how thin the material is. The humour is mild, the drama lukewarm, and for long stretches the movie resembles Norman Rockwell paintings set in slow motion, the polite folks of small town America witnessing a couple falling in love, and not much more.

Director Martin Ritt looks around to find tension but finds little to work with. The introduction of ex-husband Bobby Jack as a disruptive elements is too predictable, and even then the search for feel-good charm wins out: Bobby Jack's more unsavoury traits are balanced out by his earnest efforts to make a good impression. Any potential for a down and dirty fight over Emma's heart is abruptly resolved as Bobby Jack is unceremoniously shuffled out of the movie.

Murphy's Romance is left with two agreeable if unspectacular central performances. Field tones her girl-next-door sweetness in favour of some appreciated world weariness. Garner is easily the best thing in the movie, the character of Murphy Jones having long since sorted what matters from what does not in his life, and Garner is a perfect fit to dispense Murphy's wisdom in small, unobtrusive drops. Murphy's Romance may be a bit dull, but at least Murphy's insight is sharp.

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Movie Review: The Lost Boys (1987)

Before movie vampires were cuddly, hunky, and tragically romantic, they were pretty rotten creatures, none more so than the small colony of murderous blood suckers in The Lost Boys. These vampires have no redeeming features whatsoever, and they look fairly hideous whether in human or monster mode.

With Joel Schumacher directing, Richard Donner co-producing, and a cast of characters that brought together some of the better young talent of the era, The Lost Boys is a classy tongue-in-cheek horror flick with a few good moments of humour thrown in to spice up the fun.

Teenager Michael (Jason Patric) and his younger brother Sam (Corey Haim) are new arrivals to the small coastal California town of Santa Carla, where their mom Lucy (Dianne Wiest) has relocated their lives following a divorce. Beyond perpetually cheesy fairgrounds, Santa Carla has little going for it, and it loses it's minimal appeal when Michael and Sam realize that they are now in the murder capital of the country. Someone or something is committing a lot of violence in what should be a sleepy little resort community.

Things brighten up momentarily when Michael meets the flirty Star (Jami Gertz); but she turns out to be just a lure to attract Michael to a group of rowdy vampires led by David (Kiefer Sutherland). The impressionable Michael shares a drink of blood and is half-way to becoming a vampire; he just needs to kill something to complete the transformation, and Sam looks like a reasonable target. Sam enlists the help of local vampire hunters Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (geddit?) to fight off Michael, destroy David and his gang, and find out whether Lucy's new friend Max (Edward Herrmann), a meek but creepy video store manager, has anything to do with the local carnage.

The Lost Boys brings together a talented young cast that sparkles, sometimes under heavy make-up, despite the Santa Clara darkness. Kiefer Sutherland has rarely had a better opportunity to growl and drip evil on the big screen, while the role of Sam is perfect for Corey Haim's screen persona of scrappy resourcefulness. His regular screen partner Corey Feldman is also a natural as Edgar, all fake bravado, surviving thanks to equal measures of dumb luck and misguided initiative.

The Lost Boys also benefits from a sultry Jami Gertz at the peak of a career that promised much but fizzled too early. Jason Patric gets the most central role, but delivers a less interesting performance, all 1980s hair and little engagement. Dianne Wiest and Edward Herrmann add a dose of classiness to the movie.

Schumacher creates an atmosphere of silly dread, never aiming to be really scary but still managing to engineer a few effectively bloody moments. The Lost Boys has no message of value, but enjoys itself all the same delivering  high quality nonsensical fun.

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