Bobby Farrelly’s latest film leans hard on ’90s teen comedy nostalgia, but its tame jokes and flat road-trip antics leave it running on empty.
Bobby Farrelly’s Driver’s Ed wants to be a nostalgic, raucous return to the halcyon days of the Farrelly Brothers’ brand of raunchy, boundary-pushing comedy, but it mostly lands as a gently nostalgic, oddly tame throwback that struggles to find a clear voice.
Although the film is nominally set in the present — smartphones and a passing Ritalin reference nudge it into the here-and-now — its comedic instincts and storytelling sensibility feel thoroughly mired in the 1990s. That mismatch is the movie’s central problem: it’s trying to summon the chaotic spirit of hits like There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber, but the jokes are softer, the risks are smaller, and the overall effect is more “fond memory” than “shockingly funny.”
The story centers on Jeremy (Sam Nivola), an earnest, movie-obsessed high school senior who panics when his long-distance girlfriend, Samantha, calls him drunk and voices doubts about their future. In a spur-of-the-moment decision during a driver’s education class, Jeremy takes the instructor’s car and drives three hours to Samantha’s college.
Along for the ride — reluctantly at first, then inexplicably willing — are three classmates: Aparna (Mohana Krishan), the prim valedictorian; Yoshi (Aidan Laprete), an apathetic, would-be drug dealer and stoner; and Evie (Sophie Telegadis), a perky cynic whose retro hairdo seems intentionally lifted from mid-’90s teen style.
The ragtag group’s road trip produces a string of bizarre encounters — a three-legged cat, a robber, a cop, a refrigerated truck filled with vintage furs, and a flirtation with a hot lesbian in a convertible — but these episodes land with a curious flatness rather than the manic energy you’d expect from a Farrelly-directed romp.
Performance-wise, the young cast shows charm and effort. Nivola’s Jeremy is likable in a clean-cut, earnest way, and the supporting trio bring personality to largely expository dialogue. Molly Shannon, as the flustered school principal, delivers the film’s most eccentric energy — an over-the-top, almost manic take on adult ineptitude — and she’s often the most entertaining thing on screen.
Kumail Nanjiani turns up in a brief, oddball cameo as an injured substitute driving instructor, two broken-arm casts and all, which reads as an attempt at classic Farrelly physical comedy but lands as a quirky aside.
Where Driver’s Ed falters is its joke-writing and its nostalgia. The film seems content to mimic the outward markers of a past era — hair, throwaway cultural references, and structural nods to films like The Breakfast Club — without understanding why those originals resonated. Attempts at edginess are weak: a few random F-bombs and references to bodily functions feel performative rather than organically funny.
And the emotional beats, especially the finale in which the teens marvel at how much they’ve bonded, borrow directly from John Hughes-type sincerity but lack the depth and specificity that made those moments meaningful in older classics.
Ultimately, Driver’s Ed feels like a well-intentioned relic: the filmmakers clearly love the era they’re emulating, but love alone can’t substitute for fresh ideas or sharper comedic instincts. The movie exhumes the 1990s teen-comedy vibe, yet it can’t revive the bite that made that era memorable.
For viewers craving a nostalgic, PG-friendly road trip with a sweet center and a few chuckles, there’s something here. For anyone hoping for the Farrellys’ former daring and laugh-out-loud shock value, Driver’s Ed will likely feel like a disappointingly mild souvenir.
Source: Variety