Review of The Love Bug (1968) by Gareth R — 30 Jan 2009

The adorable story of a little car that could, The Love Bug just plain works.

Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) is a has-been race driver, and his life is going nowhere until Herbie shows up: a strange Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, who becomes instantly loyal to Jim the moment he stands up for the little car. He starts winning races again. After that, and Jim's complete disbelief that Herbie is anything other than a car, The Love Bug is mostly just lots of races, with the relationship between driver and car getting steadily stronger. But there's so much good dialogue, given to some surprisingly well-drawn characters, that the story seems a lot fuller. Carol (Michele Lee) is a particularly 3D heroine, working for the villainous Thorndyke (David Tomlinson, wonderful as the increasingly obsessed and devilish bad guy) but never really helping him. Buddy Hackett is also a hoot as Tenessee Steinmetz, the loopy mechanic who is the first to notice just how special Herbie is. And Jim is no clean-cut hero. A faded talent and too much pride make him easier to hate than love, but he comes around, and probably so will you.

Of course, the car is the star. Few cars are as alive-looking as the Volkswagen Beetle; emotions are easily got across just by a few simple noises or movements. It's a far cry from the wretched CGI hysterics of Herbie: Fully Loaded. Not a lot of films can get away with a car trying to commit suicide - no, seriously - and The Love Bug just about does it, thanks to the surprisingly poingnant characterisation.

Often hilarious and triumphant, The Love Bug is a film that fills me with pure, giddy joy. For that, I can't give it anything less than 5. A sublime and wonderful film.