In introducing his new comedy just ahead of its TIFF world premiere, director Bobby Farrelly noted that Dumb and Dumber, the 1994 release that introduced him and brother Peter to jaded audiences hankering for something edgier or grosser, or, yes, dumber, was also a road movie. But while that 1994 Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels hit firmly established the Farrelly Brothers brand, the latest solo effort is pretty benign stuff by comparison.
In Driver’s Ed, an earnest but naive high school senior (Sam Nivola), worried that his college freshman girlfriend may have broken up with him, commandeers his driving instructor’s canary-yellow KIA and, joined by three classmates, embarks on a three-hour excursion to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to ensure his fears are unfounded. Those expecting more of a Farrelly-style joyride will have to settle for a casual Sunday drive that cruises along pleasantly but without inspiration, following safely within the established boundaries of Thomas Moffett’s formulaic script. Granted there’s nothing inherently wrong with that approach and, fueled by a charismatic young cast, the vehicle reaches its intended destination with few wrong turns on the way.
Driver’s Ed
The Bottom Line
Sticks safely to the slow lane.
Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Gala Presentations)
Cast: Sam Nivola, Sophie Telegadis, Mohana Krishnan, Aidan Laprete, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani
Director: Bobby Farrelly
Screenwriter: Thomas Moffett
1 hour 42 minutes
Handed its gala premiere at the tail end of TIFF, the picture has yet to secure a U.S. distributor. Prime Video has it for Canada.
Nivola, who recently made an impression as Jason Issacs’ and Parker Posey’s sensitive youngest kid in the third season of White Lotus, is well cast as lovelorn Jeremy, a Wes Anderson-obsessed budding filmmaker who fails to see what everyone around him knows all to well — that his girlfriend, Samantha (Lilah Pate), has moved on.
Still unconvinced, he makes the decision to hear it from the source while in the middle of a driving lesson being given by Kumail Nanjiani’s Mr. Rivers, a card-carrying goofball of a substitute instructor with both of his arms in a cast. Opting to accompany Jeremy on his fact-finding mission are cynical Evie (Sophie Telegadis), overachieving valedictorian Apurna (Mohana Krishnan) and, most notably, the high school’s permanently stoned resident drug dealer Yoshi (Aidan Laprete, handily stealing every scene with his pitch-perfect deadpan line-readings).
Meanwhile, harried Principal Fisher (the always reliable Molly Shannon) is doggedly determined to track down the motley crew, snarling “I’m not going to let three dipshits and the valedictorian f-ck me out of tenure!”
Aside from encountering a few inevitable bumps in the road, including an empty gas gauge and almost running over a three-legged cat whom they name Tripod, the trip functions mainly as a journey of self-discovery. The compact KIA functions as a rolling confessional in which the young passengers share their deepest fears, darkest secrets and the realization that they’re all on the same anxiety and depression meds. It all culminates at a prolonged frat party that allows the characters to pair off predictably, arriving at the sort of conclusion that feels like peak John Hughes.
Allowing everything to unfold at an unhurried pace, underscored by a gentle acoustic John Frizzell score, Farrelly hasn’t lost the knack he shared with his brother for mining promising young talent and giving them a platform to shine. Following in the career-boosting footsteps of the likes of Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz and Anthony Anderson, Laprete makes a lasting, tragicomic impression here, which could be a jumping-off point for his film and television future, provided he’s able to sidestep inevitable typecasting.
Maybe it was too much to have expected something fresher than the totally 80s feel-good vibe that Drivers’ Ed is content to deliver, but considering the source, the comedy can’t help but feel unmotivated. It’s what the kids today would call mid.
