Written by: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Justin Long, Breckin Meyer, Matt Dillon, Michael Keaton
Rating: [3/5]
Every parent has defined how they see success for their children, sometimes even superseding how their own child would. A classic trope in storytelling where the child goes against what their parents do for them in pursuit of their own individual passions. While following this particular trope, Herbie: Fully Loaded just happens to also involve a car that perhaps contains some sentience and makes its way onto a NASCAR track.
On her way out to do an internship with ESPN at the end of summer, Maggie (Lindsay Lohan) needs a vehicle to get around town while at home. Her father, Ray (Michael Keaton) gets her a beaten down Volkswagen Beetle that Maggie finds out has a name in Herbie. As she fixes it up, she realizes the car has a mind of its own and with its power and her driving ability, they manage to impress other drivers secretly as Ray wants nothing to do with her driving, which could detract from her future.
Merging both the ideas of a daughter trying to choose their own path and what would happen if a vehicle from the Cars universe made it to the real world we get the most enjoyable Herbie Fully Loaded. A story that has its inherent silliness that leans into the unbelievable to an absurd degree but presents the family fun that could be expected from it. We see this partnership between Maggie and Herbie as a driver and vehicle that moves beyond anything we have ever seen before and it allows them to defy expectations and accomplish something together they could never quite imagine.
Now, the idea of a Volkswagen Beetle beating out the vehicles it does in this feature, such as Trip Murphy’s (Matt Dillon) in the first race of the film feels a bit ridiculous. As Dominic Toretto showed in Fate of the Furious, it does not matter the vehicle but rather the driver, even if the vehicle catches on fire in the middle of the race. In the instance of this film, the car’s sentience allows it to compete beyond all imagination, that does raise the questions of how well does Maggie actually drive and how much does Herbie do the heavy lifting. This certainly comes into question the most in this initial race, but we have to believe Maggie plays a part somehow in enhancing Herbie’s performance as they take on actual NASCAR stock cars built to reach the highest speeds possible for a vehicle and not what a Volkswagen Beetle can hit.
Therefore, we have all the fun racing sequences where competitors continually get flummoxed at the idea of them losing to this old car, but also this journey Maggie goes on before making this pivotal move to New York and the internship. As we progress through the narrative, she begins to tinker with the idea of working in racing like her father and brother, but tension lies there given her father would prefer to reach for something more like this internship with ESPN. We then have this back and forth between the two about who has a right to pursue who’s dream within her life we have certainly seen before but having Michael Keaton and Lindsay Lohan have this back and forth certainly adds something much more entertaining to the dynamic. We then also have the brewing love dynamic Maggie shares with Kevin portrayed by the ever-dopey Justin Long as Herbie has no time for this fella at first but then does its best to get them together through some sly maneuvers.
Having its inherently silly moments all throughout and landing most of its elements quite well, Herbie: Fully Loaded does its job in providing some good baseline entertainment with its story. Trying to think too hard about how all of the mechanics work would not do one well and you just need to let go of all sense of reality in watching this story of a sentient car who can vroom past other vehicles through its own magic. Everything else uses familiar plotting but one handled well by the creative team and the fun fast brought together to make all of this work for some good entertaining family fun.
Films with Josh 
