La Coccinelle à Monte-Carlo

If you are a Herbie fan, and you love the little Volkswagen car with the number 53, then you most likely have seen this 1977 Disney film. Anyone else has never heard of it before, and probably for good reason. Its just not that good an entry in the Herbie series. Yeah, Herbie fans will tell you that you should see this film if you plan to watch the rest of them, but be prepared, its slow paced and just not that funny.

Yeah, its great to see Dean Jones back as Herbie's driver, Jim Douglas and we get to have fun with Don Knotts and his shenanigans, but it doesn't last, especially for a nearly two hour film. The antics last about five minutes at best, and the jokes mostly fall flat. And what about Jim Douglas? Didn't he get married in The Love Bug in 1969? Shame on you, Jim Douglas.

The most positive thing I found in this film is that we get a glimpse of a young Eric Braeden, known mostly for his television role of Victor Newman in the CBS soap The Young and the Restless.

Love Bug's third entry in which Herbie is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally , it is full of pranks and car stunts that are great fun to see . Agreeable Disney's love bug Wolkswagen plenty of action , slapstick , laughs and fun . This hilarious Herbie story concerns about The Love Bug falls 'hood-over-wheels' for a classy chassis! Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own undertakes the famous international car race but encountering all sorts of comical obstacles along the way . Unbeknownst to Herbie's driver thieves (Ron Kinnear, Bernard Fox) have hidden a cache of stolen diamond in the gas tank . So the thieves resort to all manner of traps , legal or otherwise, to get it and are now attempting to get them back . There is one obstacle however : Herbie and a French Police Inspector (Jacques Marin) is investigating the robbing . Fortunately, the couple of pilots (Dean Jones, Don Knotts) have a sleeve in the form of Herbie , the fantastic car , as they takes the magical Wolkswagen Bug with a mind of its own . The VW falls in love with a sports car, a Lancia , as both of them compete in the notorious race . Miraculous Herbie take them for a ride and stumbles into evil hoodlums who pursue through roads , highways and race tracks . As always, Herbie the love bug , is helping the young couple (Dean Jones ,Julie Sommars) find romance but encountering all sorts of hilarious problems along the way . Meanwhile Herbie with the number 53 intervenes in the biggest race cars from Paris to Monte Carlo and win the Grand Prize , a challenge among top competitors circle the world's most famous racing circuits and quickly slipping in the ranking.

This ordinary Disney slapdash film displays great loads of amusement , fun , giggles , race cars and is pretty entertaining . It's an enjoyable movie for kids and for those who enjoy cars racing round and round and bounds and leaps by Herbie . The actors seem to enjoy immensely , as Dean Jones and Don Knotts play of sympathetic manner and the mean-spirited villains performed by Ron Kinnear , Bernard Fox and Jacques Marin are top notch . Brief appearance as sympathetic waiter by Gerard Jugnot subsequently prestigious player in the successful ¨The choir boys ¨. Colorful cinematography by Leonard South and jolly soundtrack by Frank De Vol including the lively leitmotif , usual in the Herbie's series. This is a delightful film , the original film turns out to be : ¨The love bug¨ (1969) by Robert Stevenson with Dean Jones, Michele Lee and Buddy Hackett , followed by ¨ Herbie rides again (1974)¨ also by Robert Stevenson and starred by Ken Berry , Stefanie Powers and Helen Hayes ; it's followed by ¨Herbie goes to Montecarlo¨ and ¨Herbie goes bananas¨ (1980 , or Herbie Torero) by Vincent McEveety starred by Charles Martin Smith and Cloris Leachman , among others and a 1997-for-television-movie and a TV series , the most part filmed by Stevenson and Vincent McEveety and usually starred by Dean Jones . Furthermore recent version starred by Linsay Lohan , Justin Long and Matt Dillon , being directed by Angela Robinson. This " Herbie goes to Monte Carlo¨ version is amusing and with lots of laughs but is a familiar film . The motion picture is correctly directed by Vincent McEveety . Worthwhile seeing , typical Disney slapstick ,it's a great fun to watch and there are loads of entertainment in this one . It' one of the best and funniest of ¨Herbie¨ series .

Herbie goes to Monte Carlo is my first favorite "Herbie" film. My favorite scenes were: The scene when the diamond thieves are chasing Herbie through the French country side and my other favorite scene was when Dean Jones and Don Knotts got into a fight with the diamond thieves. The whole movie is funny but I thought those were the funniest scenes. Don Knotts is hilarious as usual, just like on the "Andy Griffith" show.

A cute scene I liked was when Herbie was taking a shower from the splashing water of a big fountain.

Dean Jones ("Jim") returns to the driving seat for this third instalment of the adventures of "Herbie" and though more akin to the daftness of the first story, this is a bit of struggle to wade through. After twelve years since their last race, they return to take part in the world renowned Monte Carlo Rally. What they don't know, though, is that "Quincey" (Roy Kinnear) and his mate "Max" (Bernard Fox) have stashed some gems in the gas tank. Obviously, they are going to stop at nothing to get them back. To further complicate matters, "Herbie" has taken a bit of a shine to the car driven by "Diane" (Julie Sommars) just as "Jim" has fallen for her - with neither of them exactly hitting it off. Can they thwart the jewel thieves and find true love before the final race down the Parisian Champs-Élysées? Jacques Marin steals his scenes as the double-dealing police inspector struggling to comprehend what appears to be unfolding in front of him, and there are plenty of standard car chase and "Herbie" antics to enjoy - but I think it's safe to say we've seen it all before and this story gets more and more silly and contrived as it meanders along for an overlong 1¾ hours of dodgy French accents. It's watchable, but there's way too much dialogue (especially from sidekick "Wheely" (Don Knotts) and the whole thing isn't really very memorable.

It has been twelve years since Jim Douglas last won a race; in fact, it has been twelve years since he last drove a race but he has selected the prodigious France-Monte Carlo race to make their come back. Being greeted with laughter is a problem they can overcome but when Herbie falls in love with a rival car it means that he is distracted and more interesting in impressing her than giving his all. Mind you, even if they manage to get over that problem Jim and Wheely don't even know about the stolen diamond in their fuel tank or the international thieves chasing them to get it back.

Herbie films have never been about high production standards, character or plot and this entry in the series is no exception. The plot mixes one thread about a jewel robbery and another about romance. The former is the more enjoyable strand but it doesn't do enough to get the most out of it because it focuses more on the romance side of things. In regards Herbie, this at least provides some scenes that kids will find funny with the two cars, however it also brings tiresome bits between Douglas and Diane Darcy that aren't fun at all. It all does what you expect it to in all regards and there isn't anything special here but most of it is amusing and inoffensive enough for adults to watch while also being broad, visual and silly enough to keep children content.

Dean Jones is happy to mug along as usual and he does it well enough to fit the mood of the film; likewise Knotts pulls faces and gurns as much as he possibly can. Sommars is really rather annoying and has as little character as her character's ugly and charisma-lacking car. Herbie is amusing as ever and the film does well to draw a character out of the car without resorting to the cheap effects used by the modern entry.

Overall this is not a great film but it is an enjoyable kids movie and should be viewed as such. It is delivered with consistent good humour even if it has no surprises or laughs to really speak of. Adults might get bored of it easily but are unlikely to be annoyed by it, while children should be amused and distracted by the inoffensive antics.