1977, Walt Disney Productions
Live action
Rating: G
Approx. 104 mins.
THE STORY:
In the third installment of the Herbie series, race car driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) is back, this time with mechanic Wheely Applegate (Don Knotts). The 2 have brought Herbie to Europe to participate in a race from Paris to Monte Carlo.
Herbie's focus is taken off the race by 2 very different factors: a pair of thieves stash a precious jewel in his fuel tank, and he falls for a blue Lancia driven by a competitor, Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars). Despite these handicaps, Herbie fights on against the competitors who refuse to take the Beetle seriously. Herbie manages to win--the race and the Lancia-- and Jim and Wheely manage to convince Diane that their cars are characters.
QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:
Herbie's focus is taken off the race by 2 very different factors: a pair of thieves stash a precious jewel in his fuel tank, and he falls for a blue Lancia driven by a competitor, Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars). Despite these handicaps, Herbie fights on against the competitors who refuse to take the Beetle seriously. Herbie manages to win--the race and the Lancia-- and Jim and Wheely manage to convince Diane that their cars are characters.
QUESTIONABLE LANGUAGE:
- idiot
VIOLENCE:
- none
TEACHING POINTS:
- would be reaching unreasonably to extract something-- it's really just entertainment
THE UPSHOT:
The adults and the 5 year-old in the room liked this one better than Herbie Rides Again of three years earlier, and Jim Douglas is a much more heroic figure in this installment than in the original. But... it just didn't really gel.
The characters and performances are not bad, but the story is pretty simplistic and not very engaging. The 5 year-old in the room got pretty distracted pretty frequently. I like the fact that the heroine is a gender stereotype-challenging, independent woman, but she almost always expresses her desire for emancipation by throwing things and screeching. And then she gets rescued-- literally carried like an invalid-- when her lack of skill leads her into an accident. So, women should be strong... only when it doesn't interfere with the hero's success or the romantic resolution?
In terms of special effects, it is a product of its time, so suspension of disbelief-- and of scrutiny of the backgrounds-- is a must to enjoy the movie. If you can manage that, and maintain a reasonable level of concentration, it is worth a watch.
The characters and performances are not bad, but the story is pretty simplistic and not very engaging. The 5 year-old in the room got pretty distracted pretty frequently. I like the fact that the heroine is a gender stereotype-challenging, independent woman, but she almost always expresses her desire for emancipation by throwing things and screeching. And then she gets rescued-- literally carried like an invalid-- when her lack of skill leads her into an accident. So, women should be strong... only when it doesn't interfere with the hero's success or the romantic resolution?
In terms of special effects, it is a product of its time, so suspension of disbelief-- and of scrutiny of the backgrounds-- is a must to enjoy the movie. If you can manage that, and maintain a reasonable level of concentration, it is worth a watch.
3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment