Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)

Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)

4/10

 

Starring

Lindsay Lohan

Justin Long

Matt Dillon

Michael Keaton

 

Directed by Angela Robinson

 

Like the first film (The Love Bug (1968)) and all the movies in the series, this movie seems to be made for young viewers. Viewers who will find the antics funny, while the adults will disconnect and scroll through TikTok as the movie rolls by, or back in my days plug their ears and listen to sport. I recall seeing this movie back then, and it has stayed in my brain as one movie I always felt it was fun to re-see. But now seeing it again, I think such movies from childhood should just remain in such places.

The problem here is the lack of insight in the possibilities this movie could have been. I understand the idea that Herbie cannot talk, but there is one thing The Love Bug (1968) got right, over exclamation and movements that seems like Herbie is frowning or rolling his eyes were not there.

The movie is also plagued with too many characters that it had little need for in the end or had no use for in total. The antagonist is one dimensional and his hatred is too myopic to even draw me in to understand how someone can allow themselves to be so drawn in by a car that he throws everything else away. Then Herbie seems to be clairvoyant, not only does he know where to go, he knows who to go to in Maggie’s life from meeting Maggie only once.

Anyways the story is about Maggie (Lindsay Logan) who is the youngest member of the Peyton racing team. Maggie has had a street racing accident in the past, so her father Ray (Michael Keaton) has forbidden her to race again. After graduation Ray took Maggie to get a car for a graduation present, and pure luck had it that the car she got was Herbie, the sentient anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle.

She cleaned it up and during a test drive Herbie took over and drover her to her friend from long ago mechanic shop. When they both took it for a further test drive to see what needs to be worked on and Maggie continues to struggle to control Herbie who drives to a street racing event, where NASCAR champion, Trip was. Herbie wins the race and Trip becomes obsessed, and we see him trying to do his best to destroy Herbie. While Maggie, is trying to do her best to keep her street racing days a secret from her father and trying her best to master control of Herbie.

The movie is one of those that you know Disney did for the cash. The movie was a box-office success in the high days of Lohan, but a critical failure.