Herbie Goes to 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.

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.

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.

Race car driver Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) brings Herbie to Europe with mechanic Wheely Applegate (Don Knotts). They enter the Trans-France Race from Paris to Monte Carlo. It's 12 years since they last raced. Their opponents include the German Bruno von Stickle, Frenchman Claude Gilbert, and Diane Darcy. Thieves Max and Quincey steal the giant diamond Étoile de Joie and hide it in Herbie's gas tank as the police surround the museum. Herbie falls for Diane's car.

Dean Jones returns to the Herbie franchise. The addition of Don Knotts does not necessarily add to the humor. Julie Sommars is beautiful and strident. However, she isn't with the guys enough to create chemistry. The thieves and the cops aren't that compelling. They do a bit of broad humor. It's not that funny in this Disney franchise sequel.

When you think about Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo raises some interesting philosophical questions. Such as how is the sex of a car determined? Are here certain part variations as there are with animals or is the sex determined by the owner?

You won't get the answer to these questions, but with Dean Jones as racing driver Jim Douglas back at the steering wheel you will get a reasonably fun movie from the Disney Studio. This is the third Herbie film from the Magic Kingdom and it lives up to the standard created by the first one.

Jones after giving the car over to the tender care of Helen Hayes in the second film is back at the wheel, this time with Don Knotts instead of Buddy Hackett as his mechanic. Though I like Knotts very much as a performer, something was definitely missing without Buddy Hackett in the film. You'd have to have seen the first to appreciate it, but Hackett was the first to discover the true essence of Herbie, the Volkwagen with a soul.

Dean and Don have several problems to overcome. The first is a pair of inept jewel thieves who nearly get themselves caught even with all the museum layout and security systems information. To avoid capture Bernard Fox and Roy Kinnear dump one very large diamond into Herbie's gas tank before the Grand Prix race from Paris to Monte Carlo. The second is an officious German driver who apparently well remembers that Volkswagen's were not vehicles of sport from the Third Reich. Eric Braeden is one of those Germans you just love to hate.

The final problem is Herbie who takes one look at the lines on the car Julie Sommars is driving and guess what, her car has a soul as well. I guess you needed a handsome, devilish may car, rogue like Herbie to bring it out. He also of course brings Julie and Dean together, though I do have to wonder what happened with Michele Lee from the original film.

Nice location scenery of France, the countryside and the metropolitan areas of Paris and Monte Carlo definitely help one enjoy this film even if you're not a devoted fan of the soulful Herbie.