I reckon I saw this film in the cinema when it first came out. It was basically when I was hanging around with some older uni-students who would go to the movies every so often, and I decided that I would go with them. Anyway, I really don't know how many times I have seen this film, but it sure does take me back to a younger age, even if it wasn't all that innocent.
So, the film is about this kid who is supposed to get his driver's license. Well, he goes and sits the test, but fails. However, he kicks the computer and all the information is lost (though they later managed to get it, and proceed to fail him). However, since he doesn't want to be labelled a failure (and the fact that the US is a car-centric hell hole) he decides to lie and tell everybody that he passed. Mind you, his parents quickly find out, and of course he is grounded. The catch is that the girl he likes calls him up, so he does what every good teenager does, and steals the car.
Yeah, the film is pretty much about the wild night out, and honestly, as a teenager I really did connect to this film. Like, okay, in Adelaide we did have decent public transport, but back in those days we really did see the car as some sort of freedom. Like, take the scene at Archies - it was that legendary place that you could only get to if you have a car.
Mind you, it is also the instance that the car comes back scratched, and ends up completely trashed (namely because they have to rush the mother to the hospital, and the only person who can drive is basically the kid without a license - and I'm pretty surprised that he managed to get all the way to hospital, speeding, in the wrong direction, without getting pulled over by the cops).
Mind you, it does, probably not intentionally, highlight the nature of cars in the United States, but that is honestly another discussion for another time. Instead let us just remember it for a time when I was young, and it was a film that I really did relate to.
So, the film is about this kid who is supposed to get his driver's license. Well, he goes and sits the test, but fails. However, he kicks the computer and all the information is lost (though they later managed to get it, and proceed to fail him). However, since he doesn't want to be labelled a failure (and the fact that the US is a car-centric hell hole) he decides to lie and tell everybody that he passed. Mind you, his parents quickly find out, and of course he is grounded. The catch is that the girl he likes calls him up, so he does what every good teenager does, and steals the car.
Yeah, the film is pretty much about the wild night out, and honestly, as a teenager I really did connect to this film. Like, okay, in Adelaide we did have decent public transport, but back in those days we really did see the car as some sort of freedom. Like, take the scene at Archies - it was that legendary place that you could only get to if you have a car.
Mind you, it is also the instance that the car comes back scratched, and ends up completely trashed (namely because they have to rush the mother to the hospital, and the only person who can drive is basically the kid without a license - and I'm pretty surprised that he managed to get all the way to hospital, speeding, in the wrong direction, without getting pulled over by the cops).
Mind you, it does, probably not intentionally, highlight the nature of cars in the United States, but that is honestly another discussion for another time. Instead let us just remember it for a time when I was young, and it was a film that I really did relate to.