by Chris Barry

While U.K. writer/director Jeremy Brock’s directorial debut is yet one more predictable, schmaltzy and, let’s face it, dumb, coming-of-age story that’ll probably be out of the theatres by the time next week’s Mirror hits the stands, you can throw props Brock’s way for at least one thing: Driving Lessons comes off as sincere—even if it does kind of suck.

The acting is nothing short of embarrassing, as both Laura Linney and Julie Walters deliver performances so over-the-top you’ll want to cringe at times. The plot’s clichéd and the direction lacklustre, but, in comparison to similar Hollywood fare, at least it’s mercifully void of the cynicism one comes to expect from this type of blatantly commercial endeavour. In other words, you get the feeling Brock actually would’ve liked to make a halfway decent movie here, not just another piece of shit designed solely to score big at the box office à la The Full Monty. Unfortunately, however, it appears Brock just doesn’t have it in him to deliver the goods.

Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame plays Ben, a shy, goofy, 17-year-old who lives under the absolute rule of his tyrannical, God-fearing mother (Linney) in suburban London. The poor kid isn’t allowed to do anything fun, his days marked by bible classes and other such drudgery. On his mother’s suggestion, he goes looking for a summer job and scores a gig as a personal assistant to Dame Evie (Walters), an eccentric old bag who was once a distinguished actress but is now just a lonely crazy person, forever complaining and manic.

Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame plays Ben, a shy, goofy, 17-year-old who lives under the absolute rule of his tyrannical, God-fearing mother (Linney) in suburban London. The poor kid isn’t allowed to do anything fun, his days marked by bible classes and other such drudgery. On his mother’s suggestion, he goes looking for a summer job and scores a gig as a personal assistant to Dame Evie (Walters), an eccentric old bag who was once a distinguished actress but is now just a lonely crazy person, forever complaining and manic.

Ah, but lurking inside that outlandish exterior of hers is a wise, passionate individual with more than a thing or two to teach Ben about living life to the fullest. They bond, Ben’s mother freaks out, Evie tricks him into accompanying her to Edinburgh for a theatrical reading where Ben finally loses his virginity, and the kid ultimately returns home to better recognize his mother’s hypocrisy and start living life like a normal teenager.

While, try as it might, Driving Lessons is not the Harold and Maude it wants to be, there nevertheless remains a hint of hard-todefine charm to it, although nowhere near enough to make it worth recommending.

Driving Lessons opens this Friday, Jan. 18

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