Review of Driving Lessons (2006) by Jenny N — 11 Nov 2011

My rating off films that I have not seen in theaters is executed by how long I can prolong from turning the DVD player off. This movie prompted me to eject the disc at the 25 minute mark. This is on account of how annoying the characters were and how the story is fumbled around like plates in an amateur juggling act. While admittedly it is helped by a decent performance by Rupert Grint and how pretty it is shot, those two factors aren't enough to support the overbearing problems it dangles out in the open.

We are given so many heavy plot devices in the early stages of the movie with no real character development aside from the load of crazy given to us by Laura Linney. By having no solid investment in the characters by the time stamp above, it made it incredibly dull to watch. Not establishing who or what is going on in Rupert Grint's life makes it incredibly frustrating to watch as the audience has no idea what is going on. I really cannot elaborate more on this because I simply did not have the patience to sit through any more awkward mess.

Rupert Grint proves that he is a capable actor outside of the 'Harry Potter' world and I certainly wish him the best, but he deserves something much better than this. I understand this may not be a film geared for a general audience, but even fans of the British Dramedy genre (like myself) will find it's clumsy approach to story telling and annoying supporting characters difficult to sit through.