Once you start watching these eighties teen comedies, it’s kind of hard to stop. License To Drive is a fun eighties teen comedy delivering everything you would want and more. It perfectly captured the spirit of the eighties leaning more towards the innocent side since this is a PG-13 movie. So, do not expect nudity or graphic violence here. However, after more than thirty years the plot of this movie is completely crazy. The things our young gang will be doing are not just illegal but morally despicable. But hey, these are the eighties so they can get away with anything.
License To Drive stars Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, known as the 2 Corey’s. And although I have not seen all of their movies, they were pretty good in this one along with young Heather Graham in one of her first roles. At this point, we should probably briefly talk about what was going on behind the scenes. Corey Feldman released a documentary titled The Rape of 2 Coreys a couple of years ago discussing his experiences while making this movie and a couple of others. I don’t want to go into details but let’s just say that these were very bad experiences.
Moreover, Corey Haim later said in an interview with Larry King that this movie was his breaking point when it came to drugs. Everything went downhill from then on out. And to think that he celebrated his 16th birthday on the set of this movie… I know that all of this leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but it simply had to be said. It’s not all fun and eighties escapism here, we have to look at the bad side of things too. However, once we did that, we can move on and enjoy this movie like adults.
We will be following young Les who’s about to finally get his driving license. All he has to do is not fuck up and pass the driver’s test. And that’s going to be quite an undertaking. Ahhh, the iconic driver’s license, the first taste of freedom and adulthood. Add to this the infamous “one wild night” movie concept and you got yourself a vibrant and funny eighties comedy. It reminded me of one of the first movies I saw featuring such a plot, The Night Before, starring Keanu Reeves. Ta-na-na-na-na-ta na-na-na-na-na-ta!
There’s only one thing that Les, your average teenager, wants and that thing is his driving license. Well, to be completely honest, he dreams about his driver’s license, sports car, and beautiful Mercedes, a girl he goes to school with. However, Les should be careful about what he wishes for because his wishes might actually come true. But with some serious consequences.
Featuring a running time of just under ninety minutes, a vivacious atmosphere, and solid pacing, License To Drive is a fun movie. Especially if you’re feeling nostalgic because everything you would want from an eighties comedy is here. Still, it has to be said that it can get cheesy and too on-the-nose at times. Some of the jokes simply don’t work and the dialogue can feel forced and unnatural. With all this being said, I think you should lower your expectations to properly enjoy this movie.
Finally, here’s a fun fact about me, I do not have a car or a driver’s license. I know that this might be strange to you but I never really bothered getting one for various reasons. I guess I was lucky to live in such a place where you don’t have to have a car to get around. Although it looks I will have to get one now, I’m just getting to that age when it’s becoming almost necessary.
Director: Greg Beeman
Writer: Neil Tolkin
Cast: Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Carol Kane, Richard Masur, Heather Graham, Michael Manasseri
Fun Facts: The production used the total of nine Cadillacs during filming.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095519/
