Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)

Director:

Angela Robinson

Writers (WGA):

Thomas Lennon (screenplay) &
Robert Ben Garant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 June 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

Start your engines...

Plot:

Maggie Peyton (Lohan), the new owner of Number 53 - the free-wheelin' Volkswagen bug with a mind of its own - puts the car through its paces on the road to becoming a NASCAR competitor.

Plot Keywords:

Car | Nascar | Graduation | Mechanic | College Graduation

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Lindsay Lohan	...	Maggie Peyton
Michael Keaton	...	Ray Peyton Sr.
Matt Dillon	...	Trip Murphy
Breckin Meyer	...	Ray Peyton Jr.
Justin Long	...	Kevin
Cheryl Hines	...	Sally
Jimmi Simpson	...	Crash
Jill Ritchie	...	Charisma
Thomas Lennon	...	Larry Murphy
Jeremy Roberts	...	Crazy Dave
E.E. Bell	...	Beeman
Peter Pasco	...	Juan Hernandez
Mario Larraza	...	Miguel Hernandez
Patrick Cranshaw	...	Jimmy D.
Scoot McNairy	...	Augie

Also Known As:

Herbie (USA) (working title)
Herbie the Love Bug (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Taiwan:GP | Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | USA:G (certificate #41766) | Ireland:G | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | UK:U | Singapore:PG | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Czech Republic:U | Brazil:Livre | Mexico:A | Hong Kong:I | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:A

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Pictures

Trivia:

Maggie pays Crazy Dave $75 for Herbie. This is the original price Jim Douglas (played by Dean Jones) offered to pay for "cheap, honest transportation" in The Love Bug (1968).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Maggie loses hope during the big race after getting boxed in by the other cars, we see her team bow their heads. The movie then immediately cuts to a shot of her in the car saying, "I'm getting killed out here. I can't shake them." The very next shot is of her dad with a headset on standing among the team (in between Ray Peyton Jr. and Kevin). He wasn't standing with them when they bowed their heads three seconds earlier and there wasn't enough time for him to have walked up, put the headset on, and stand there so calmly.

Quotes:

Maggie Peyton: It wasn't me, it was Herbie.
Kevin: Herbie is a *car*.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 16 Blocks (2006)

Soundtrack:

Herbie (Fully Loaded Remix)

A 'bug' worth catching...

Herbie is the vehicular equivalent of a schizophrenic old Hollywood star; as prone to headline seeking hi-jinks as violent depressions. Much to director Angela Robinson's credit, in Herbie: Fully Loaded, the car with a mind of its own is so very likable that you end up wondering what psychological issues you must have to spend an hour and a half emotionally engaging with a Volkswagen Beetle.

When we first meet Herbie, he is the battered wreck of his former race-winning days, languishing in a crummy junkyard. But Maggie (Lindsay Lohan) has just graduated from college and her NASCAR racing champ dad (Michael Keaton) has offered to buy her a car. After Herbie draws attention to himself in true slapstick fashion, Maggie finds herself at the wheel of the mischievous 'bug', and somehow championing him back to pole position.

This is Disney, and carries all the twee sentimentality that you would expect. Herbie awakens in Maggie her suppressed dream of being a race car driver, but Maggie has to combat both her overprotective father, and the ruthlessly competitive NASCAR celebrity driver Trip (Matt Dillon) before she can realise her ambitions and be true to herself etc etc. The latter allows for some rollickingly good race scenes, and the former an opportunity to see just how craggy Keaton's face has become.

Lohan is as watchable as ever here, imbuing her role with the kind of non-committal playfulness it deserves, and though the film is not particularly clever, it is rather amusing. The world wasn't really calling out for Herbie to make a return, but that didn't stop Bullock from doing Miss Congeniality 2, and at least the Volkswagen Beetle can act.