Opening Day: 1 September 2005

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Synopsis :

Start your engines! Herbie, the most beloved car star of them all, is back and Lindsay Lohan's got him in Disney's all new revved-up comedy adventure, HERBIE: FULLY LOADED. Lohan stars as Maggie Peyton, the new owner of Number 53 - the freewheelin' Volkswagon bug with a mind of its own - who puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor. Herbie's got some new tricks under his hood as he takes audiences for an action-packed spin in this high-speed comedy. With an all-star cast along for a wild ride, this comedy puts Herbie to the test - on-road, off-road, on the track and into the record books.

Movie Review:

Lindsay Lohan is at an awkward stage in her career. She’s no longer the cute young child actress in “The Parent Trap” nor is she the best candidate for mature materials. Even if her buxom figure might say otherwise. Her constant hogging of headlines on news tabloids are more prominent than her acting/singing career.

In “Herbie Fully Loaded”, Lohan is Maggie Peyton, daughter of a NASCAR (stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, a popular spectator sports in the U.S.) champ, Ray Peyton, Sr played by a bushy Michael Keaton. As a gift to her graduation, Maggie is asked to pick a car from the junkyard. Instead of any other rundown cars, the chosen one is none other than the original “Herbie The Love Bug”, the white VW Beetle who charmed the world with it’s jubilant, adventurous antics and multi-laugh inducing expressions in the 60’s and 70’s. But that was all in the past, Herbie has been reduced to no more than a piece of rusty metal piece awaiting “death” in the junkyard. Fortunately, Herbie is given a huge overhaul by Maggie’s high school friend, Kevin, (Justin Long from “Dodgeball” and “Jeepers Creepers”) an ace mechanic who looks more like a fumbling student. To prove her desire and passion in racing to her overprotective father, Maggie with the help from Herbie has to slowly penetrate the world of stock racing.

You might be surprised to learn that Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the dynamic duo who created the hit television series, “Smallville” and wrote screenplays such as “Spider-man 2” and “Shanghai Noon” are also part of the team of writers responsible for “Herbie Fully Loaded”. The mere mention of their names might raise your expectations but regrettably, their inputs failed to prevent “Herbie Fully Loaded” from falling into typical Disney productions.

As with any Disney’s movies, there are the usual elements of “pursuing your dreams” kind of underlying message, themes on friendship and of course a G-rated romance subplot between Maggie and Kevin. The pacing is lively and the acting spontaneous, it all boils down to a lot of fun as a matter of fact. Matt Dillion (who just appeared in the acclaimed drama “Crash”) even turns up as a “cartoony” villain (sort of Sylvester in Loony Tunes) against Maggie and Herbie. Although Dillion and Keaton’s screentime were pathetic, they sort of uplifted the movie to a whole new arena in some ways.

The numerous racing sequences are clearly enhanced by CG technology, realism is dismissed and the younger audience might be amused by the stunts and cute antics of Herbie. To be fair, Lohan is a natural performer onscreen, irregardless of the fact that she might share scenes with seasoned actors (Dillion and Keaton) or CG performer (Herbie), she stands on her own with her charisma as the determined Maggie Peyton. “Herbie Fully Loaded” might not accelerate to the top of the box-office but well, it’s a whole lot of decent clean fun for the whole family.

Movie Rating:

(A brave attempt in reviving the "Herbie" franchise, clearly nothing spectacular but a whole lot of fun for the entire family)

Review by Linus Tee