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Review

'Herbie' parks on memory lane

The G-rated film employs a pop star and NASCAR in an attempt to mimic the success of the 1969 hit The Love Bug.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published June 22, 2005

Back in 1969, Disney bucked a trend of increasingly permissive cinema by releasing The Love Bug, a G-rated fantasy about a magical Volkswagen named Herbie. The movie was the second-highest moneymaker of the year, and was offered as proof by conservative thinkers that people preferred clean movies over what was branded as smut.

Thirty-six years later, movies are grittier, sexier and more violent than ever, and a new generation of conservatives complains about it. Once again, Herbie rides into theaters for what can be considered a minor referendum on American movie tastes. Don't expect the goody-goodies to brag this time.

Herbie: Fully Loaded is time warp cinema, taking viewers back to days when the harshest word spoken was "gosh," and nobody got hurt or naked. It's a painfully dated piece of entertainment, despite starring current teen idol Lindsay Lohan and venturing into NASCAR territory, arguably the most popular spectator sport today. It's a movie made for people who believe they don't make actors like Dean Jones anymore.

Small children might think this material is fun, so the adults taking them to the movies need to be satisfied with paying for the smiles on their faces. There's a place in the world for movies such as Herbie: Fully Loaded, and it's called home video.

Lohan plays Maggie Peyton, a college graduate with a summer off before beginning a job at ESPN (cue the Disney empire cross-promotions). Maggie has an itch to race on the NASCAR circuit like her father (Michael Keaton) and brother (Breckin Meyer). But dad won't allow it. He prefers Maggie driving a beat-up VW purchased for $75 at a junkyard. Of course, that's Herbie, a former champion ready to prove there's still something in his tank.

Herbie's supernatural speed upsets Nextel Cup champion Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon, way over the top) in a street race, and the villain wants revenge. Four screenwriters devise a number of convoluted ways to place the cute bug in danger, at a demolition derby, in the path of a monster truck, and eventually at a NASCAR race. The latter setting allows real-life drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jarrett to prove they're more expressive with their helmets on.

The only 21st century touches in Herbie: Fully Loaded are the car's computer generated bumper smiles and frowns, a few headlight tricks and air spoilers. Otherwise, the movie is simply harmless, which is just a swerve away from insignificance.

Grade: C-

Director: Angela Robinson

Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Breckin Meyer, Justin Long

Screenplay: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, based on characters created by Gordon Buford

Rating: G; reckless driving

Running time: 101 min.

[Last modified June 22, 2005, 01:08:17]