La Coccinelle revient

Maggie Peytton is not overly impressed when her graduation gift from her race driver father is a busted VW beetle. Planning to ditch it at a gathering of car fans, Maggie inadvertently finds herself in a promotional street race with undefeated NASCAR champion Trip Murphy. What nobody knows is that this little VW is none other than former sensation Herbie – sadly now confined to the scrap heap of history (literally). When Maggie wins, Murphy is outraged and sets out to engineer a rematch while Maggie tries to work out quite what it is about this little car that makes her drive so fast.

I think it is important to come into this film as a fan of the Herbie films rather than someone for whom the laws of thermodynamics must be rigidly applied across all film genres. I say this because much of the film is absurd and there will be those wringing their hands about the simply impossible moves that the little car makes, however these same people should also keep in mind that they are watching a film about a mischievous car that is alive. It is important to enter into the spirit of the film and, in fairness, Fully Loaded does help the viewer as much as possible by being wonderfully charming and disarming.

It doesn't really have a bad bone in its body and I must admit that I found it refreshingly clean family entertainment that was easy to enjoy even if it was just as easy to forget. Of course if you're not sold on this charm and find it grating or silly from the start then you should bail out because it will not get easier for you as it gets sillier the longer it goes on. Director Robinson delivers a good clean script really well, not making it post0ironic but totally hitting the innocent charm that made the character so good in the first place. Herbie himself is quite fun but it is the main cast that do the harder job of getting the mood right.

Ignore her real-life personae and just watch Lohan for what she does here and you'll find her performance to be quite good and fitting the film. Keaton, Dillon, Long and Meyer are all solid and provide the film with a professional feel in the cast. Overall then this is a fun and clean family film that is surprisingly charming and effective. Getting into the swing with it is important as the action is very silly at times and it is only if you are feeling it that you can forgive it. For me, I was right there with it and enjoyed it for the simple fun it was.

Repeat the following prior to viewing this movie: "I will suspend my disbelief and dutifully accept all plot devices in order to maintain the sanity that would otherwise escape me were I to process events in the movie from a logical perspective." Because yes, Herbie, an old VW Bug, will compete in a NASCAR race and drive sideways on the fence--as seen in the previews.

Having said that, this movie is quite enjoyable when watched from such a standpoint. It's fun and innocent, but it carries the typical Disney fantastical vibe as well. I sometimes get annoyed with the cheesy ridiculousness of those types of movies, but then again, when I was a kid I thought they were wonderful. So, take that as you will.

Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) has just graduated from college and is about to happily embark on her new life as an ESPN writer. Her father (Michael Keaton aka The Dark Knight) and late grandfather own Peyton Racing, a NASCAR team in which her brother, Ray Jr.,competes. Unfortunately for the family, Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer) lacks the racing talent that his father, grandfather and sister possess, and the team is now struggling to keep sponsors from backing out after numerous crashes and defeats on the track. Maggie dreams of racing for the team, but her father desperately wants her to use her college degree and leave the horrible world of racing behind. We're never really told why her father considers professional racing to be so lowly a profession, given that it produces dozens of respectable sports stars and, oh yeah, lots and lots of money; but, again let's stick to the original "suspension of disbelief" mantra, and we'll have no trouble with his opinion of the sport. Maggie comes across Herbie and quickly learns that the car has a mind of its own and can magically propel her and her family into fame and fortune on the racetrack.

The movie is complete with a standard garden-variety villain, Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon), a four-time NASCAR champion, who, despite being competent enough to win the Nextel Cup series four times, cannot keep his mind off an impromptu street race that he lost to Herbie. He acts like a jerk, flings insults at Maggie, and generally struts around like he's better than everyone, thus enabling the audience to despise him. Plus, he was like, totally mean to Herbie and called him a piece of junk! You just don't talk about Herbie like that, and I so kept hoping he'd get his comeuppance in the end.

I did like the movie, however, because from a certain standpoint it is enjoyable to watch. Herbie himself has several humorous moments, and I couldn't help but like him. Given that this wasn't a documentary it's forgivable in its transgressions on reality, which in the end make the movie more entertaining. It's lighthearted and doesn't attempt to beat the audience down with a message (ahem, Sharkboy & LavaGirl). I highly recommend Herbie: Fully Loaded for kids and for those who like cute and wholesome movies—if you're simply looking for a good pick-me up and a fun movie, then this is definitely one that you shouldn't miss.

Just...don't get caught up in the details.

When I was a kid (long ago), I saw all four "Herbie" movies, and I can remember being kind of underwhelmed by them even at that tender age. In fact, I thought the last two of the original four were really lame. So I made it a point to avoid "Herbie Fully Loaded" when it came out. But it came on television recently, and I decided to give it a chance since I'd be seeing it for free.

I was surprised. Now, I will admit that the movie has its share of flaws. It doesn't explain why Herbie, in the time between the previous movie and this movie went downhill as a racer, and why Herbie had been forgotten by the racing community (and its audience) - you would think a Beetle that kept winning races would be remembered by SOMEONE! I could go on with listing its flaws, but I found its charms outweighed its flaws. For starters, the protagonists are very likable, down to earth and not annoyingly goofy. And Dillon's character of the rival racer was not broad and instead more of a realistic villain.

The special effects are a mix of "old school" effects like the original movies used, mixed in with CGI. I actually found the combination worked, blending with each other well.

I'm not saying that this is a movie to actively seek out... but if you come across it while in a silly mood, I think there's a good chance you'd find it an agreeable way to pass the time.

I suppose I could just really rake this movie over the coals if I wanted to, but what's the point? It'd be like beating a physically handicapped kid in arm wrestling - it's way easy, but you walk away without really accomplishing anything, and you feel kind of bad afterwards.

Plus, I'm not exactly part of the main demographic for this movie, and if you aren't part of the demographic, then why would you even consider paying money to see it? What are you expecting? This is a movie about a lifelike car that spits exhaust in the faces of bad guys, leaks oil on their bad guy shoes, and opens its trunk, doors, or glove compartment whenever something needs to be revealed or somebody needs to be strategically hit in a slapstick manner. If those types of shenanigans send you rolling down the aisles in apoplectic fits of laughter then you're in luck. However, if you're like me and aren't quite so easily amused then you might want to veer your hard-earned dollars in another direction.

Even though I've never been a fan of the Herbie series, and this movie did nothing to make me a convert, there are some positives. The most important being that Lindsay Lohan is looking very good and is in fine pre-anorexia, pre-fake blonde form. She claims her current look (Ode De Skeletal Olsen Twin) is for a movie she's doing in which she plays a fashion designer, and she promises to put her weight back on. I hope so because she definitely looks better with a little meat on them bones! The second positive is that the entire cast is giving it their best. They're not given great material to work with, but at least they look like they're having a little fun. I'm quite sure Matt Dillon is well aware that this isn't exactly a step up from his previous movie, Crash, but he doesn't use that as an excuse to phone in his performance, so I have to give credit there.

I think they should've renamed the movie though. I would've suggested Herbie: Fully Loaded WITH MUSIC MONTAGES! Sheesh. I honestly don't think I've ever seen one movie with that many montages. At times I thought I was watching a series of Disney music videos. What in the world? Was this a prime example of avoiding dialogue? Oh well. At times boring, and never threatening to entice riotous laughter, Herbie at least moves along at a decent pace and is never quite so stupid that it's intellectually insulting, so I won't be too harsh. I'm sure it's loads of fun for the really young (under 7). However, when I asked my 10-year-old brother what he thought of the movie he replied, "It was OK." When I asked if he thought it was funny he replied, "Kind of. I guess." Not exactly a ringing endorsement but not a total condemnation either.

Herbie: Fully Loaded is just what I expected from this next installment of the famous Love Bug series. I am not sure how many there were (and I am too lazy to look), but I have seen them all. The same things I liked about the originals, I liked about this one. Same with the dislikes. I am able to suspend my disbelief only so far. However, I do realize this movie is mainly for KIDS and I am able to let go of it's obvious flaws. I did like how Herbie was animated just a bit to show his personality just a little more.

Ray Peyton Sr. (Michael Keaton) was a legendary racer and wants nothing more than his son Ray Peyton Jr. (Breckin Meyer) to be the "Next Great Peyton". The only problem is that Jr. has a unique problem which causes him to crash for apparently no reason, even when no one else is around. The other thing is, Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) is the more gifted of Sr.'s children.

After Maggie ends up with Herbie, although she does not really want him at first, he takes it upon himself to take on the current racing legend, Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon), in a street race and beats him. This strikes a nerve with Trip who wants to ruin Herbie and his mysterious driver "Max". Bet you can't figure out who Max is. Anyways, the racing scenes are very similar to the racing scenes of the past movies. I am not sure, but I believe the opening scenes were clips from past movies.

Matt Dillon is excellent as the antagonist, as he usually is. He plays the egotistical Trip in quite the humorous way. Also, Lindsay Lohan was beautiful and perfect for the role. To be honest, I may not have seen Herbie if she was not starring in it. Also, Michael Keaton has visibly aged here and not in a very good way. Justin Long also puts in a fine performance as Kevin. Also, I did not even realize I was watching a "G" Rated movie. I am not sure when the last time I saw one of those was but it was refreshing to be able to look back at the movie I just saw and not be able to come up with anything questionable about it.

If you have seen any of the Herbie movies then you know whether or not you will like this one. Please don't be shocked if you have seen them and still choose to go see this movie. If you did not like it, then it is entirely your fault. Maybe movies are too complicated for someone like that to enjoy. 7/10