This John Hughes-minded Farrelly comedy has plenty of gas.
There are two comedies out this season each directed by one of the Farrelly brothers. Peter directed the awful Prime Video hit “Balls Up,” while Bobby directs “Driver’s Ed,” which will be playing in select theater and be available on VOD. I think this is the one more people should be watching and not the other film, because while it’s light-hearted in its energy, it still knows how to be funny without tying too hard and sweet without being so overly sentimental. I think maybe this is the film I wanted out of “No Hard Feelings” three years ago, especially when it wanted to reach new comedy territory in a youthful aspect.
Sam Nivola from “Eileen” and “Maestro” and the son of Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer plays a teenager named Jeremy, who gets in trouble for sexting his college freshman girlfriend Samantha (Lilah Pate) and is in the middle of driver’s ed. Molly Shannon (whose Farrelly repertoire includes “Osmosis Jones,” “Shallow Hal,” and unfortunately, “Balls Up”) plays the principal with too much on her plate, while Kumail Nanjiani plays the driving instructor Mr. Rivers with two injured arms and admits that texting at a stop sign is fine. He even has different stories about his arms like the Joker and his facial scars in “The Dark Knight.”
When Jeremy calls his girlfriend, she tells him that their long distance relationship is hopeless and she can’t come home for homecoming. During one of his driving lessons, he decides to go AWOL and take his friends-the creative Evie (Sophie Telegadis), the closeted lesbian Aparna (Mohana Krishnan), and the drug dealing Yoshi (Aidan Laprete)-to Samantha’s college to fix things. He’s the kind of schmo who thinks Sam is the girl of his dream and wants to take the trip to devote his love to her. This is when Bobby Farrelly goes all John Hughes on us by giving these youngsters some personalities and possibly a new direction in Jeremy’s love life. After all, it is a road trip movie where anything can happen.
“Driver’s Ed” is a low key, but funny and sweet comedy that doesn’t rely on gross-out gags or crass characters to sell an R-rated comedy. This may not be a Farrelly classic like “Dumb and Dumber” or “There’s Something About Mary,” but Bobby still guides the young actors and comedy stars with the right appeal. The best consist of Laprete with how he handles a phone trick gone wrong, Telegadis with her honest consistency, Shannon with a tone that almost reminds me of Stephen Colbert’s teacher in “Strangers with Candy,” and Nanjani delivering his awkward and goofy mannerisms.
There have been been delightful John Hughes-inspired films of recent memory like “Booksmart,” “The Half of It,” “Love, Simon,” and “The 4:30 Movie,” and even though we wish the filmmaker was still alive (and we owe him thanks for “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candies,” among others), there are filmmakers who love and honor film. And I guess Bobby Farrelly is going for that, too. And he even still has some of his 90s-2000s charms when he adds a three-legged cat in the mix.
Important distinction: “Balls Up” was an extended penis joke of a bad movie, but “Driver’s Ed” passes its driving test.
In Select Theaters and Streaming on VOD This Friday