Prime Time: Driver's Ed (2026)

There comes a time when someone squanders enough of your goodwill that you stop mentioning their past glories. Although he's had at least one other very enjoyable movie in the past few years (Champions), that time has come for Bobby Farrelly. I'm not saying that Driver's Ed is a terrible film. It's just so generic and uninspired that it doesn't feel like it was made by someone with some modern classics in their filmography.

Sam Nivola plays Jeremy, a young man struggling with what seems to be the end of his now-long-distance relationship with Samantha (Lilah Pate). After mulling things over, he decides that a road trip is in order. Unfortunately, that road trip involves him commandeering the car used for his driver's ed class, which means that Evie (Sophie Telegadis), Aparna (Mohana Krishnan), and Yoshi (Aidan Laprete) are also taken along for the journey.

It's surprisingly hard to write a review for Driver's Ed. It's one of the most inoffensive and forgettable comedies that I've seen in recent years. Part of me almost wishes that it was terrible. At least I would work up some energy to shred it. It's not terrible though. It's not great either. It is, ironically, the most middle of the road comedy you could possibly imagine, unable to deviate from the plot beats that most viewers would be able to predict from the opening scene. It flops as a teen comedy, it doesn't make enough time for the more fun older cast members (Kumail Nanjiani and Molly Shannon, playing two people the movie should have really focused on instead), and there's not one memorable set-piece, or one big laugh, in the entire runtime.

I'd have to put most of the blame on writer Thomas Moffett, although he at least attempts to add some depth to a couple of the main supporting characters, but Farrelly should have worked harder to fill the film with enough extra treats to make up for the weak screenplay.

The acting isn't bad, so it has that going for it. Nivola is a decent young lead, and Telegadis works well alongside him. Both Krishnan and Laprete also work well together, especially as the former ends up becoming a bit more comfortable in herself. Pate is perfectly fine, but she's really just required to be the destination for a group of characters who end up on a very winding and valuable journey. Aside from the comedy stars already mentioned, Tim Baltz and Bri Giger are the other two main adults to join in with the fun, and their scenes are almost as welcome as those featuring Nanjiani and Shannon. 

There are many worse choices you could make when picking a mild distraction from the streaming services available to you, but I cannot think of anyone who will watch this and then remember it fondly within a few months. It's frustratingly bland and tame, and, most importantly, it's disappointingly lacking in the comedy department.

4/10

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Netflix And Chill: Eileen (2023)

The sophomore directorial feature from William Oldroyd (who helmed the fantastic Lady Macbeth almost a decade ago),  Eileen certainly has some comparison points that show what Oldroyd seems to be drawn. There's a very strong-willed woman at the centre of things, there's a sense of some justice being served, albeit not necessarily in the right way, and there's a lot of manipulation. It's an interesting film, but I'm not sure that it's entirely successful.

Thomasin McKenzie plays Eileen Dunlop, a young woman who works at a correctional facility for teenage boys. She's quiet and withdrawn, often placing herself in little fantasies while she kills time during visting hours. Her home life isn't too great either, due to the fact that her father (Shea Whigham) is an alcoholic who keeps getting increasingly paranoid and dangerous. Things take a slight turn for the better when her workplace takes on a new psychologist, Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), and Eileen is soon pleasantly surprised to find herself becoming fast friends with her. Friends can take you on some very unexpected journeys though.

Based on a novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh, who also adapted the tale into screenplay form with her husband, what is here is a dark and intriguing tale of loneliness and pain being exploited by someone who knows how far they can push the limits of someone far younger and weaker than themselves. Everything leads up to a third act that turns truly dark and uncomfortable, but things don't ever settle into a cohesive whole. It's a character study, and it's a look at relative morality, but it falls just short of being great.

Oldroyd directs well enough, and he's comfortable once again with placing his characters in sparse environments that reflect the restrictions and drudgery of their own lives, but he doesn't do anything to help underline any of the main points being made. It would be fair to say that this is a film designed to make viewers ask some hard questions, but it would be equally fair to say that it doesn't even come close to providing any satisfying answers, or even just something that feels like a proper and natural end point for the story and the characters.

It doesn't help that McKenzie (who I have LOVED in other films) is a weak link here. The accent doesn't feel right, which does a lot to unbalance her performance, and she's hampered by the fact that her character spends most of her time reacting to things around her, as opposed to being pro-active in ways that could change her life for the better. Hathaway is a lot of fun in her role, although she often feels as if she's in a different movie from McKenzie. Then you have Whigham, doing fine work, but feeling as if he is in a different movie from both Hathaway and McKenzie. Marin Ireland absolutely kills it in the third act, enabled by material that allows her to give the best performance in the film, and I'm always happy to see Siobhan Fallon Hogan get more substantial roles, even if she is once again only here as a supporting player.

From a purely technical standpoint, there's very little wrong with this. There's just also nothing great about it, which is disappointing. Considering the talent here, on both sides of the camera, I thought this would make a stronger impression. The third act helps it to rise above average, and it certainly tries to be something a bit different, but I doubt anyone will remember it in a year or two. 

6/10

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