Rating: PG13
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Release Date: 07/03/2007
SubTitles: French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Distributor/Studio: Sony Pictures
Two strong-willed women wield their influence on a shy teenaged boy in this
coming-of-age comedy from the United Kingdom. Seventeen-year-old
Ben (
Rupert Grint) is the son of a soft-spoken vicar (
Nicholas Farrell), but it's his mother,
Laura (
Laura Linney), who rules the household, and she has put
Ben cheerfully under her thumb, keeping him busy with a variety of good-will errands for the church and numerous local charity causes. With summer vacation looming before him,
Ben is looking forward to learning to drive, but
Laura is more interested in spending time with one of the more charming members of the church staff than helping
Ben learn how to operate the family automobile. Wanting to earn some pocket money,
Ben starts looking for a part-time job and ends up working for
Evie Walton (
Julie Walters), an elderly and slightly eccentric actress who needs help keeping her garden in shape.
Laura believes
Evie isn't an especially good influence on her son, though
Ben is happy to find someone who encourages his interest in poetry and the larger world (especially girls). One day,
Evie announces that she needs to ride to Edinburgh, where she is supposed to give a reading as part of the city's massive music and arts festival. While
Ben doesn't have his license, he volunteers to take the wheel, and soon he's confronted with various forms of decadence that his mother has frequently warned him to avoid.
Driving Lessons received its North American premiere at the
2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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