Memorable, crazy movie

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

There were certain parts and pieces in the movie "Driving Lessons" that I was not thrilled by, but overall, I did enjoy this movie. The parts of the movie that intrigued me the most were the excellent actors and actresses, the random humor, and the beautiful scenery. I also enjoyed the overall plot and idea of this movie. I really liked how perfectly each actor or actress matched his or her part. Rupert Grint did a wonderful job playing his character, Ben. I thought Grint fit the image of the "awkward teenager" and did a great job expressing how each awkward teenager feels about certain situations. For example, when Ben senses that something between his parents is not quite right, he shuts down and keeps to himself. I think this represents how most teenage boys are. Grint also showed his acting skills when Ben was sharing his love poem to Sara. He showed how boys this age are a little unsure of themselves and how to talk to girls. Laura Linney, who played Ben's mother, also did an exceptional job portraying the stereotypical "controlling mom". She did this by acting as if she controlled the house and everything that goes on in it. She bosses Ben around to do things for her, like helping out at the church and even getting her some groceries. She also shows this controlling mom figure by lying and shutting the door on Evie, the woman who Ben has been keeping company. I think Linney was a great choice for the unpleasant mother of Ben role. The random spurts of humor in "Driving Lessons" were another entertaining part that grabbed my attention. Evie, played by Julie Walters, is the somewhat kooky older lady that Ben keeps company. She plays the most humorous role in this film with her funny yet a little inappropriate comments. I think the director, Jeremy Brock, made a smart move when adding Evie's funny sayings throughout the movie. The humor was unusual and not similar to other comedy movies, which is why I enjoyed it. For example, when Evie swallowed the car key and told Ben "..the key will be back with us in the morning! I'm as regular as clock work." was humorous and grabbed my attention. Lastly, the overall idea and plot was something I liked throughout this movie. I loved the fact that they shot this film in England because it made the scenery like something I have never seen before. I also thought that the plot of the movie was very interesting and kept me wanting for more after each scene. I was very intrigued to see how Ben was going to be after taking care of Evie. I thought it was a good idea to incorporate the encounter of Evie and Laura, because they were the two opposites throughout the film. I also liked how Ben driving Evie everywhere related back to the beginning of the story, which was about his driving lessons.

The 2006 movie Driving Lessons, directed by Jeremy Brock, overall is decent. It's not one of my favorite movies by any means but the comedy aspects are good. Ben's mom controlled every aspect of his life but after he started working for her, he started to live life. Dame Evie gave Ben the push to be a great individual, while maintaining a small amount of comedy, and after he quit working for her he started college, moved out, and started working at a library. Some key comedy aspects are Ben's driving abilities, Dame Evie Waltens as the crazy old woman, and the actions of Mr. Fincham.His abilities to navigate the roadways are hysterical because he crashes the car when he is supposed to make an emergency stop when the instructor claps his hands. Dame Evie is also a main part of the comedy because she swears like a sailor, she swallowed the key to the car when they (her and Ben), the amount of wine she drinks and her requests when she is drunk. The best part of the movie, in my eyes, would be when Mr. Fincham runs over Laura (Ben's mom) at the end of the movie. She controlled Ben the entire time like he was her little hand puppet and he changed, between him getting fed up with the treatment and what the Dame was telling him, to become more "manly" and stood up for himself against his mom. One may think that the title reflects his driving abilities, however, it reflects that Ben is turning his life around. This is the best example to show that been was turning his life around to live a better, freer life. Even though the movie was decent, it had some life lessons and colorful symbolism. Starting with the symbolism, when his employer (Dame Evie) was telling Ben that "A week seems like a year, I count each moment as a blessing." Shortly after she said this to Ben, he looked up at the starry sky and saw the true beauty of the world and realized that he was taking a life changing adventure. He would not be the same after this trip.The theme was indirectly told and was stemmed from a lie, yet both of the symbolisms point to this theme as a possible strong theme. Dame Evie told Ben that she was dying from breast cancer and could die between a week and a year from now. She was depicting, by her actions, that you should live life to the fullest because you don't know how long you have left to live. He took this to heart and this was shown by the night looking at the stars, the first time he spent the night with a girl, and definitely was shown at the end of the movie when he talked to Evie for the last time telling her that he moved out of the house, got a good paying job and is going to school to be more than someone's foot and hand (his mother's).This was all construed together by the final song of the movie, "Auld Lang Syne". The basic meaning is that the past is the past and live for the future because it can be whatever you want it to be. That is also why it is the song millions chant at the New Year celebrations. The New Year acts like the start of a new life and he is starting this new life.

Rupert Grint is a true find as a British teenager who gets a summer job working as the companion for an eccentric retired actress (Julie Walters) so, at his mother's request, they can help out the destitute elderly man she has taken in. Walters, once one of the most respected actresses of the RSC, ended her career on a British soap opera, and now lives in virtual seclusion. She becomes attached to him, and takes him off on the road against his mother's wishes, giving him an adventure and a view of life he wouldn't have had staying around his ultra-Christian surroundings.Laura Linney, one of the most likable American actresses of today on stage and screen, has usually played the type of character we'd all like to have as a wife, sister or aunt. But here, with a convincing British accent, she plays a very cheery woman who is hiding a lot of secrets underneath, most of which point her out to be a hypocrite and a sinner in secret. That said, her performance is excellent, but she has only a little bit of screen time. Red-headed Gint is a delightfully rich young actor who I hope gets the same popularity as his "Harry Potter" co-star Daniel Ratcliffe, reminding us that not every young actor has to be a pin-up boy looking like Justin Bieber or have a muscular, tanned body the teenage girls all drool over. As for Walters, I have adored this droll actress ever since before "Educating Rita", and here, she moves her character acting skills into Maggie Smith territory.The problem with the movie lies with the screenplay, moving in so many directions and leaving out some important details, so the ultimate result is sweet, yet unsatisfying. But with so few movies being made today that explore the relationships between young people and the delightful eccentrics around them, that is a small complaint. These characters benefit from each other's different kind of wisdoms, and for that, this film is truly worth exploring.

If you enjoyed Harold and Maude, you should enjoy Driving Lessons for it is a clone of the 70's film that has become somewhat of a cult classic. Unfortunately, Driving Lessons is not nearly as good as its predecessor but it's not from lack of good acting along with outstanding music that thoroughly adds to the enjoyment of the film.Ben is an extremely introverted teenager, and it's no wonder that he is. He is the son of a cuckolded minister and a mother from hell. Ben's mother is a person who uses religion as a club to pound her son's ego into little pieces while his cowardly father looks on silently or escapes to his office to hide.After being told by his harridan of a mother to get a job, Ben answers an ad to be an assistant for an elderly woman. It turns out that the woman, Evie, is a colorful kook who is a retired actress. She takes Ben under her somewhat bawdy wing, and their adventure begins.Unlike his mother who only sees elements in Ben to criticize and berate, Evie sees an intelligent, introspective, young man with the heart of a poet. Through a series of both comic and poignant events, Ben grows to appreciate his own worth.It is the superior acting that gives this coming of age story a step up from most of the genre. Ben is played by Rupert Grint who has been seen in the Harry Potter films. He is the perfect age and has the perfect look for the part of Ben. Ben's transformation from a downtrodden youth to a strong young man is totally believable due to Grint's beautiful acting.Julie Walters plays Evie with a real kick. She shows us a woman who has become almost a prisoner of her former life who, through her relationship with Ben, begins to look more forward than backward. Walters exudes both spirit and pathos in showing us a woman facing her own latter-life crisis.Laura Linney gives a great performance as the mother. This is a woman whom you wish would be plowed down by a dump truck on a busy street or struck by lightning. It is to Linney's merit that she does not try to make the character in the least way sympathetic. She is not afraid to have her character be hated by the audience. That is one of the signs of a very good actress.If you have seen Harold and Maude, you know that a sexual relationship develops between the young man and the older (much, much older) woman. There is no such relationship in Driving Lessons. I have read the opinions of some critics who feel that this is a cop-out to our politically correct age. Perhaps, but I don't think that it hurts the overall story for their relationship to have been platonic. Walters gives us a woman who certainly might have been physically attracted to this young man, but instead, is overwhelmed by his giving, poetic spirit. This is easy to believe and understand.Driving Lessons is not a great film, but it certainly is an enjoyable hour and a half that I recommend for your viewing pleasure.A note: I have mentioned Harold and Maude several times in this review. If you haven't had the extreme pleasure of seeing this intriguing film, rent it and watch it as soon as possible!