Movies

Lindsay Lohan plays a Los Angeles college grad from a NASCAR family whose graduation present from pop Michael Keaton is the same '63 Volkswagen Beetle from 1968's "The Love Bug" and its horde of cinematic follow-ups. 'Herbie', a car with a mind of its own, not only gets Lohan back on the racing track, but plays matchmaker for her and a cute auto-mechanic as well. Not especially imaginative, but a nice family film with some mild laughs (one which is sweetly in-tune with its '70s roots). The story denouement is utterly predictable, and the performances are all phoned-in (Lohan is so enervated, she barely reacts the first time she realizes her car is possessed). Still, the pace is fast, the music selections bright, and the special effects are good. ** from ****

I have vague memories of the original Herbie. I do remember it was a VW bug and a young Latino boy called him "Ocho" because his numbers 5 and 3 added up to make 8. I also remember that Herbie was not at all as animated as this latest version. Herbie was more animated than a Roadrunner cartoon. Herbie could have just as well been a cartoon with all of the contortions and movements he made. Sometimes technology and CGI take away from a movie more than it adds to it. Movie makers these days seemed to get carried away with their new found abilities to animate everything.Herbie Fully Loaded is supposed to be a fun family movie, but I believe it is more for little children. All in all, Herbie was just too over the top for me.

Great clean funny family film! Please ignore the critics and watch and enjoy this movie.