Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:12 pm
Well, thanks to a kindhearted UD member, I got Herbie Fully Loaded signed, sealed and delivered to my house in the UK on release date! So here's what I thought of it:
Overall the film has a very retro feel. Something I loved to bits, but I can understand why young children may not have been entranced. Oddly, considering Herbie is associated with the 70's, it has a retro 80's feel, thanks to the music choices. But who cares? 80's music rocks.
But the best aspect of the retro ambiance wasn't 80's rock tracks, it was the fact that the film was actually innocent and fun. I know its a hard concept to grasp these days, but once upon a time, not so long ago, family films were actually enjoyable escapism, rather than dark angst ridden epics or cut down teenage gross out movies. Herbie: Fully Loaded is the type of film you can watch from beginning to end with an idiotic smile across your face. It may or may not be disposable depending on your personal view, but its still fun.
As for the script, it was surprisingly grown-up in its storytelling. It didn't talk down to children. It didn't explain everything three times to make sure everyone got the (admittedly somewhat limited) story. What impressed me the most was how facts about the characters just slipped out in conversation.
We know enough about Maggie and Kevin's prior associations by short, but direct dialogue when Kevin is introduced. The site of Maggie's crash is introduced in a seemingly throwaway moment, but its only later that its significance is realised. And, while nothing specific is said about the incident, somehow we can imagine how bad it could have been. Finally, we assume Maggie's mother is dead, but this is only confirmed (I think) towards the end of the movie when her Dad explains how he can't face loosing her like he lost her mother.
However, Keaton and Meyers' roles were nothing but generic. Not to slight the actors, but anybody could have played them with the same effect. Perhaps they could have tried to put some unique personality into their parts, or perhaps they made the right choice by playing them more or less straight. After all, the film is about Herbie and Maggie, not her father and brother.
Ah, Lindsay... Lindsay... Lindsay... what can I say about the famous Lohan? Is she a star? Yes, I think she is. Is she a superstar? No. But she devlidered a good solid performance, and despite - ahem - reports of a troubled shooting period, infused the film the the fun feel necessary for it to work. Long may the Lohan star in Disney movies!
I have no problems with the more animated Herbie. Let's face it, if they could have done more in The Love Bug, they would have. Herbie's best scenes were in the car scrapyard. The whole scrapyard sequence deliberately played against people's expecations. In some ways, it's a shame the rest of the film didn't do more of this, as I found it most enjoyable to watch.
The actual race ending was weak. Not so much due to the writing and direction, but because so many of the 'surprises' had been shown in the now infamous 'Sizzle Reel'. Still the race was fun, and let's face it, we knew Herbie and Maggie would win in the end.
I've not had time to watch all of the supplements, but I have to say I do like the finished opening over the animated one shown in storyboard/animatic format as a DVD extra. Of course, an opening more in line with the excellent posters and even the DVD menus would be the best, but the opening they used had a feel of the retro-modern poster art. I loved the bubbles!
Overall the film has a very retro feel. Something I loved to bits, but I can understand why young children may not have been entranced. Oddly, considering Herbie is associated with the 70's, it has a retro 80's feel, thanks to the music choices. But who cares? 80's music rocks.
But the best aspect of the retro ambiance wasn't 80's rock tracks, it was the fact that the film was actually innocent and fun. I know its a hard concept to grasp these days, but once upon a time, not so long ago, family films were actually enjoyable escapism, rather than dark angst ridden epics or cut down teenage gross out movies. Herbie: Fully Loaded is the type of film you can watch from beginning to end with an idiotic smile across your face. It may or may not be disposable depending on your personal view, but its still fun.
As for the script, it was surprisingly grown-up in its storytelling. It didn't talk down to children. It didn't explain everything three times to make sure everyone got the (admittedly somewhat limited) story. What impressed me the most was how facts about the characters just slipped out in conversation.
We know enough about Maggie and Kevin's prior associations by short, but direct dialogue when Kevin is introduced. The site of Maggie's crash is introduced in a seemingly throwaway moment, but its only later that its significance is realised. And, while nothing specific is said about the incident, somehow we can imagine how bad it could have been. Finally, we assume Maggie's mother is dead, but this is only confirmed (I think) towards the end of the movie when her Dad explains how he can't face loosing her like he lost her mother.
However, Keaton and Meyers' roles were nothing but generic. Not to slight the actors, but anybody could have played them with the same effect. Perhaps they could have tried to put some unique personality into their parts, or perhaps they made the right choice by playing them more or less straight. After all, the film is about Herbie and Maggie, not her father and brother.
Ah, Lindsay... Lindsay... Lindsay... what can I say about the famous Lohan? Is she a star? Yes, I think she is. Is she a superstar? No. But she devlidered a good solid performance, and despite - ahem - reports of a troubled shooting period, infused the film the the fun feel necessary for it to work. Long may the Lohan star in Disney movies!
I have no problems with the more animated Herbie. Let's face it, if they could have done more in The Love Bug, they would have. Herbie's best scenes were in the car scrapyard. The whole scrapyard sequence deliberately played against people's expecations. In some ways, it's a shame the rest of the film didn't do more of this, as I found it most enjoyable to watch.
The actual race ending was weak. Not so much due to the writing and direction, but because so many of the 'surprises' had been shown in the now infamous 'Sizzle Reel'. Still the race was fun, and let's face it, we knew Herbie and Maggie would win in the end.
I've not had time to watch all of the supplements, but I have to say I do like the finished opening over the animated one shown in storyboard/animatic format as a DVD extra. Of course, an opening more in line with the excellent posters and even the DVD menus would be the best, but the opening they used had a feel of the retro-modern poster art. I loved the bubbles!
