Themes: Date from Hell, High School Life, Party Film
Main Cast: Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Carol Kane, Richard Masur, Heather Graham
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Les (Corey Haim) is embarrassed when he fails his driving test in this routine teen comedy. His buddies are depending on him to provide the wheels for the weekend, but Les is more interested in his Saturday date with Mercedes (Heather Graham). Les secretly steals his grandfather's immaculate 1972 Cadillac for the adventure. The dream date soon turns into a nightmare when Dean (Corey Feldman) bothers Les with camera flashes and cigar smoke, and his sloppy-drunk date dances on the hood of the car with high heels. The car is towed when he parks illegally, and later the teens are chased by revved-up motorheads who challenge him to a race. Carol Kane and Richard Masur play Les' parents. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
Other than their first pairing in The Lost Boys, 1988's License to Drive remains the other highly entertaining outing from the '80s duo that could do no wrong -- Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. Thanks to a madcap script from Neil and Michael Tolkin, the partying teen dreams blossomed with the vehicle, playing up both their natural talents before their egos got the better of them (see the following year's Dream a Little Dream for the first inklings). On the supporting front, Richard Masur and Carol Kane couldn't be funnier as the parents, with other juicy bits provided by future Fresh Prince Dad James Avery along with the one and only Heather Graham in her big-screen debut. A sizable hit in the theaters, License to Drive remains a late-'80s classic thanks to its sizable success in the theaters and later as a mainstay on cable TV and video. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Michael Manasseri - Charles; Harvey Miller - Professor; M.A. Nickles - Paolo; James Avery - DMV Examiner; Parley Baer; Michael Ensign; Grant Goodeve; Helen Hanft - Miss Heilberg; Grant Heslov; Nina Siemaszko - Natalie, Les' Sister; Christopher Burton
Credit
Mack Bing - Associate Producer, Penny Perry - Casting, Andrew Licht - Co-producer, Jeffrey A. Mueller - Co-producer, Hilary Wright - Costume Designer, Greg Beeman - Director, Wendy Greene Bricmont - Editor, Mark Helfrich - Editor, Jay Ferguson - Composer (Music Score), Lawrence G. Paull - Production Designer, Bruce Surtees - Cinematographer, Mack Bing - Production Manager, John Davis - Producer, Jeff Haley - Set Designer, Greg Papalia - Set Designer, Art Rochester - Sound/Sound Designer, Joe Dunne - Stunts, James M. Halty - Stunts, William R. Perry - Stunts, Joe Dunne - Stunts Coordinator, Frank Deese - Screenwriter, Michael Tolkin - Screenwriter, Neil Tolkin - Screenwriter
The film was in production during the latter months of 1987. It was one of the most popular films that starred both Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. It was released on July 6, 1988 in the United States and grossed over $20 million at the domestic box office. It received a PG-13 rating in the United States, PG in the United Kingdom and M in Australia. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The film is about Les Anderson (Haim), a 16-year-old who is trying to get his driver's license. He has a crush on one of the more popular and attractive girls in school, Mercedes Lane (Graham).
After failing his driver's exam, Les does take the road test (and passes), following a computer surge that he unknowingly caused. His test scores are retrieved, though, and his new license is torn up. Les lies to his parents and friends, convincing them that he has passed the test. Unfortunately his parents do find out the truth, though. As a result, Les is grounded. That night he sneaks out of the house with his grandfather's prized 1972 Cadillac for a night on the town with Mercedes. After showing him how the city looks from far away on a hill, she tells him that her father used to bring her there. Mercedes then gets drunk and passes out, causing minor hood damage to the car.
Les panics and goes to his friend Dean's house, where Dean (Feldman) fixes the dents in the car's hood. His other friend Charles has a camera. Dean persuades Les to go out for a joyride, unaware that Les does not have a license. The three end up getting into all kinds of trouble and hilarity ensues.
Of course, the next day, Les does get in trouble with his father after coming back home (from dropping Charles, Dean and Mercedes off at their homes). Then his mother shouts that she's in labor. Luckily, Les is able to drive his father, little brother Rudy and his mom to the hospital - in reverse. But after they get there and Les's mother is taken into the hospital, a crane falls and crushes the Cadillac. Both Les and his dad are shocked. But later, thankfully, Les' grandfather laughs it off when he reveals that he had totaled Les' father's BMW.
Les' father tells Les that the BMW is all his now, and, laughing, tells him to take good care of it. But Les says that he does not need a BMW anymore and, when Mercedes pulls up in a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, hops into it. Les then drives off with Mercedes, and the credits roll.
Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert summarized this by stating that "..."License to Drive" remembers feelings like that, and it brings back the whole complex of emotions about being 16 and taking your test.. ".[1]
"Jazzy's In The House" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince- Will Smith and Jeffery A. Townes - 2:55 would later star with James Avery, who played Les' driving instructor, on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which premiered two years later.
