License to Drive
Encyclopedia
License to Drive is a 1988 teen adventure film starring Corey Haim
, Corey Feldman
, Heather Graham
, Carol Kane
, Richard Masur
, Michael Manasseri
and Nina Siemaszko
. The screenplay was written by Neil Tolkin
and directed by Greg Beeman
.
The film was in production during the latter months of 1987. It was released on July 6, 1988 in the United States and grossed over $20 million at the North American box office. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox
.
. He has a crush on one of the more popular and attractive girls in school, Mercedes Lane (Graham).
After failing his driver's exam, Les takes the road test (and passes), following a computer surge that he inadvertently caused. The Department of Motor Vehicles had originally let him pass the exam (as his failing score was irretrievable after the computer surge) because his twin sister had scored so highly; they decided that twins couldn't be too different. But when his test scores are finally retrieved, his new license is torn up and he is officially failed. Les lies to his parents and friends, convincing them that he has passed the test. Unfortunately, his parents find out the truth and as a result, Les is grounded. That night, having already made plans to use his new license, he sneaks out of the house with his grandfather's prized 1972 Cadillac
for a night on the town with Mercedes. After showing him how the city looks from far away on a hill, she tells him that her father used to bring her there. While Mercedes is getting drunk, she and Les cause minor damage to the hood of the car by dancing on it. Mercedes then passes out.
Les panics and goes to his friend Dean's house, where Dean (Feldman) fixes the dents in the car's hood. Dean persuades Les to go out for a joyride, along with their friend Charles, who are both still unaware that Les does not have a license. The three, along with a blacked out Mercedes (who they eventually put in the trunk of the car), end up getting into all kinds of trouble and hilarity ensues as they cause more damage to the Cadillac.
Of course, the next day, Les does get in trouble with his father after coming back home (after dropping Charles, Dean and Mercedes off at their homes) with a Cadillac that is damaged beyond minor repair. Then his mother, late in the night, wakes up her husband and shouts that she's in labor. Luckily, Les is able to drive his father, little brother Rudy and his mom to the hospital - in reverse, because the Cadillac is so badly damaged it can no longer be put into drive. After they get there and Les's mother is taken into the hospital, a crane fails and a falling girder crushes the Cadillac. Both Les and his dad are shocked. Later, thankfully, Les' grandfather laughs it off when he jokingly reveals that he had written off Les' father's BMW.
Les' father tells Les that the BMW is all his now, and, laughing, tells him to take good care of it. But Les says that he does not need a BMW anymore and, when Mercedes pulls up in a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet and then says "I got a Mercedes" and then hops into it. Les then drives off with Mercedes, and the credits roll.
Chicago Sun-Times
critic Roger Ebert
gave the film two and a half out of four stars and described the film as "more-than-passable summer entertainment, especially when it identifies with the yearnings of its young heroes to get behind the wheel." He said the first half of the film was "very funny" but the second half was "much more predictable".
was distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment
in the United States on May 3, 2005. Special features included interviews with Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, audio commentary with Greg Beeman and Neil Tolkin, deleted scenes, TV spots, theatrical trailers, and the film's screenplay (DVD-ROM).
on March 11, 2010, the day of Corey Haim's death, Corey Feldman revealed that he and Haim had been developing a sequel, titled License to Fly, an idea initiated by Haim. Feldman also stated that there were tentative plans for a trilogy, with a third installment called License to Dive.
Corey Haim
Corey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor, known for a 1980s Hollywood career as a teen idol. He starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Silver Bullet, Murphy's Romance, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream...
, Corey Feldman
Corey Feldman
Corey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
, Heather Graham
Heather Graham
Heather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
, Carol Kane
Carol Kane
Carolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
, Richard Masur
Richard Masur
Richard Masur is an American actor who has appeared in more than 80 movies during his career. From 1995-1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild . Masur sits on the Corporate Board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund.-Biography:Masur was born in New York City to a...
, Michael Manasseri
Michael Manasseri
Michael Manasseri is an American actor and film director.-Biography:He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Wyatt Donnelly in the TV series Weird Science . Manasseri also had a recurring role in the second season of the NBC sitcom Wings as young pilot Kenny McElvey...
and Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
. The screenplay was written by Neil Tolkin
Neil Tolkin
Neil Tolkin is an Canadian screen writer from Montreal. He attended Westmount High School and Dawson College and McGill University.- Career :...
and directed by Greg Beeman
Greg Beeman
Greg Beeman is an American director and producer best known for his work on television series Smallville, JAG, and Heroes. As well as numerous comedy films.- Career :...
.
The film was in production during the latter months of 1987. It was released on July 6, 1988 in the United States and grossed over $20 million at the North American box office. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
.
Plot
The film is about Les Anderson (Haim), a 16-year-old who is trying to get his driver's licenseDriver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
. He has a crush on one of the more popular and attractive girls in school, Mercedes Lane (Graham).
After failing his driver's exam, Les takes the road test (and passes), following a computer surge that he inadvertently caused. The Department of Motor Vehicles had originally let him pass the exam (as his failing score was irretrievable after the computer surge) because his twin sister had scored so highly; they decided that twins couldn't be too different. But when his test scores are finally retrieved, his new license is torn up and he is officially failed. Les lies to his parents and friends, convincing them that he has passed the test. Unfortunately, his parents find out the truth and as a result, Les is grounded. That night, having already made plans to use his new license, he sneaks out of the house with his grandfather's prized 1972 Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
for a night on the town with Mercedes. After showing him how the city looks from far away on a hill, she tells him that her father used to bring her there. While Mercedes is getting drunk, she and Les cause minor damage to the hood of the car by dancing on it. Mercedes then passes out.
Les panics and goes to his friend Dean's house, where Dean (Feldman) fixes the dents in the car's hood. Dean persuades Les to go out for a joyride, along with their friend Charles, who are both still unaware that Les does not have a license. The three, along with a blacked out Mercedes (who they eventually put in the trunk of the car), end up getting into all kinds of trouble and hilarity ensues as they cause more damage to the Cadillac.
Of course, the next day, Les does get in trouble with his father after coming back home (after dropping Charles, Dean and Mercedes off at their homes) with a Cadillac that is damaged beyond minor repair. Then his mother, late in the night, wakes up her husband and shouts that she's in labor. Luckily, Les is able to drive his father, little brother Rudy and his mom to the hospital - in reverse, because the Cadillac is so badly damaged it can no longer be put into drive. After they get there and Les's mother is taken into the hospital, a crane fails and a falling girder crushes the Cadillac. Both Les and his dad are shocked. Later, thankfully, Les' grandfather laughs it off when he jokingly reveals that he had written off Les' father's BMW.
Les' father tells Les that the BMW is all his now, and, laughing, tells him to take good care of it. But Les says that he does not need a BMW anymore and, when Mercedes pulls up in a Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet and then says "I got a Mercedes" and then hops into it. Les then drives off with Mercedes, and the credits roll.
Cast
- Corey HaimCorey HaimCorey Ian Haim was a Canadian actor, known for a 1980s Hollywood career as a teen idol. He starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Silver Bullet, Murphy's Romance, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream...
as Les Anderson - Corey FeldmanCorey FeldmanCorey Scott Feldman is an American film and television actor. He became known during the 1980s, with roles in the Hollywood films Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, The Goonies, Stand by Me, The Lost Boys, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, Gremlins and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
as Dean - Carol KaneCarol KaneCarolyn Laurie "Carol" Kane is an American actress. Kane has worked on the stage, on the screen and in television. She appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as the wife of the character played by Andy Kaufman. She received two Emmy Awards for her work...
as Mrs. Anderson - Richard MasurRichard MasurRichard Masur is an American actor who has appeared in more than 80 movies during his career. From 1995-1999, he served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild . Masur sits on the Corporate Board of the Motion Picture & Television Fund.-Biography:Masur was born in New York City to a...
as Mr. Anderson - Heather GrahamHeather GrahamHeather Joan Graham is an American actress. She has appeared in such films as Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Lost in Space, Bowfinger, From Hell, Anger Management, and The Hangover...
as Mercedes Lane - Michael ManasseriMichael ManasseriMichael Manasseri is an American actor and film director.-Biography:He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Wyatt Donnelly in the TV series Weird Science . Manasseri also had a recurring role in the second season of the NBC sitcom Wings as young pilot Kenny McElvey...
as Charles - Parley BaerParley BaerParley Edward Baer was an American actor in film, television, and radio.-Radio:Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Baer had a circus background, but began his radio career at Utah station KSL...
as Grandpa - Harvey Miller as The Professor
- Michael A. Nickles as Paolo
- Nina SiemaszkoNina SiemaszkoNina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
as Natalie Anderson - James Avery as Les' DMV Examiner
- Grant GoodeveGrant GoodeveGrant Goodeve is an American actor and television host. He is best known for playing the role of David, the oldest son, on Eight Is Enough, from 1977 to 1981. He sang the theme song for the show as well...
as Natalie's DMV Examiner - Grant HeslovGrant HeslovGrant Heslov is an American actor, film producer, screenwriter and director.-Early life:Heslov was born in Los Angeles, into a Jewish family and was raised in the Palos Verdes area of Los Angeles. He attended Palos Verdes High School, the University of Southern California along with friend Tate...
as Karl - Michael EnsignMichael Ensign- Early life :Ensign was born in Safford, Arizona and was raised in both the United States and England. He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and spent the first ten years of his professional career working in the theatre in Britain.- Career :...
as School Teacher / Bus Driver - Helen HanftHelen Hanft-Biography:Hanft was born in New York City. She started her theatrical career in the early 1960 during the Golden Age of experimental theater at such venues as La Mama ETC and Caffe Cino and in a few years she became known as "the Helen Hayes of off-off Broadway." Not a great beauty, she...
as Miss Hellberg - Vincent Joseph Willcalinman as Rudy
- Nanci Meek-Kusley as Shakey's Waitress
- Dave Lind as Special Education Dean
Reception
License to Drive grossed $22,433,275 in North America.Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two and a half out of four stars and described the film as "more-than-passable summer entertainment, especially when it identifies with the yearnings of its young heroes to get behind the wheel." He said the first half of the film was "very funny" but the second half was "much more predictable".
Track listing
- "Drive My CarDrive My Car"Drive My Car" is a song primarily written by Paul McCartney, with lyrical contributions from John Lennon, and first released by The Beatles on the British version of the 1965 album Rubber Soul; it also appeared in North America on the Yesterday and Today collection...
" by Breakfast ClubBreakfast Club (band)Breakfast Club was an American New Wave group. Their biggest hit single was "Right on Track", which went to #7 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.-Band history:...
– 3:13 - "Sweet Surrender" by Brenda K. StarrBrenda K. StarrBrenda K. Starr is an American singer-songwriter. She is well known originally in dance-pop, but now mostly in salsa-based music...
– 4:50 - "I Feel FreeI Feel Free"I Feel Free" is a song first recorded by British rock group Cream. The song's lyrics were written by Pete Brown, its music by Jack Bruce. It was the first track on the US issue of their debut album, Fresh Cream , and the band's second hit single...
(Extended Version)" by Belinda CarlisleBelinda CarlisleBelinda Jo Carlisle is an American singer who gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands and the first such group whose members wrote their own songs and played their own instruments...
– 6:55 - "Time Starts Now" by Boys Club – 4:28
- "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My CarGet Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" is a number one single by singer Billy Ocean. Part of its popularity lay in its cutting-edge video, which featured cartoon mixed with live-action sequences. The song went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Black Singles chart. It also...
" by Billy OceanBilly OceanBilly Ocean is a Trinidad-born English Grammy Award winning popular music performer who had a string of rhythm and blues international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British-based R&B singer / songwriter of the early to mid-1980s...
– 5:29 - "CrucialCrucial (song)"Crucial" is New Edition's fourth single from the Heart Break album. The single featured production from Jellybean Johnson, Spencer Bernard, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Despite failing to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, "Crucial" hit #4 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, making it one of New...
" by New EditionNew EditionNew Edition is an R&B group formed in Boston in 1978. The group reached its height of popularity during the 1980s. They were the progenitors of the boy band movement of the 1980s and 1990s and led the way for groups like New Kids on the Block, Boyz II Men, Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync...
– 4:30 - "One More Dance" by Jonathan ButlerJonathan ButlerJonathan Butler is a singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music is often classified as R&B, jazz fusion or worship music.-Biography:...
– 4:32 - "Jazzy's In The House" by DJ Jazzy JeffDJ Jazzy JeffJeffrey Allen Townes , also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff or simply Jazz, is an American hip hop, R&B record producer, turntablist and actor. He is best known for his early career with Will Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince...
& the Fresh Prince – 2:55 - "Touch and Go" by Femme Fatale – 3:57
- "Make Some Noise" by Slave RaiderSlave RaiderSlave Raider was an American heavy metal band formed in 1985 that was known for its over-the-top antics, heavy make-up and glam song lyrics. In the 1980s, the Minneapolis music scene was primarily known for The Replacements, Soul Asylum, Hüsker Dü and Prince among others. In the Twin Cities, Slave...
– 3:28 - "Mercedes Boy" by Pebbles – 3:54 (single remix)
Home media
A special edition DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
was distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Anchor Bay Entertainment is a U.S. based home entertainment and production company and is a division of Starz Media, which is a unit of Starz, LLC. It was previously owned by IDT Entertainment until 2006 when IDT was purchased by Starz Media. Anchor Bay markets and sells feature films, series,...
in the United States on May 3, 2005. Special features included interviews with Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, audio commentary with Greg Beeman and Neil Tolkin, deleted scenes, TV spots, theatrical trailers, and the film's screenplay (DVD-ROM).
Sequel and trilogy
In an interview on Larry King LiveLarry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
on March 11, 2010, the day of Corey Haim's death, Corey Feldman revealed that he and Haim had been developing a sequel, titled License to Fly, an idea initiated by Haim. Feldman also stated that there were tentative plans for a trilogy, with a third installment called License to Dive.