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Driving Lessons

Driving Lessons (2006)

tomatometer

48

Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 75
Fresh: 36 | Rotten: 39

Though it has charm, Driving Lessons is a middling offering in the genre where the youngster coming of age meets a quirky senior who teaches valuable lessons about life.

48

Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 23
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 12

Though it has charm, Driving Lessons is a middling offering in the genre where the youngster coming of age meets a quirky senior who teaches valuable lessons about life.

audience

67

liked it
Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 192,743

My Rating

Movie Info

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

PG-13, 1 hr. 38 min.

Drama, Comedy

Jul 3, 2007

Sony Pictures Classics

Cast

All Critics (82) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (42) | DVD (12)

Writer-director Jeremy Brock has backloaded much of the hero's family conflict into the final scenes, which collapse under the weight.

December 18, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Barely worth the trip.

November 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | Comment
Orlando Sentinel
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It's an exercise in calculated high-quirk in which the most egregious forms of stereotyping -- particularly along gender and religious lines -- attempt to pass for 'human' behaviour.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Brock] sticks to the inspirational formula of contemporary English sentimental comedies: that real life has little relevance.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment
Globe and Mail
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Driving Lessons, with perfectly cast actors, a poignant and often hilarious script and original music, is a study in how fun British humor can be.

November 10, 2006 Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | Comment
Arizona Republic
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Offers a pleasant excursion down a familiar road.

November 9, 2006 Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Brock subscribes to the new school of British Imperialism: crafting cozy little trifles that conquer foreigners with preciousness.

July 2, 2009 Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | Comment
I.E. Weekly

Ron Weasley and the trite coming-of-age story.

July 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Driving Lessons is as dull as its title.

March 6, 2008 Comment
Washington City Paper

They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but as we see in most autobiographical coming-of-age films, adolescent truth is just as boring as adolescent fiction.

September 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Cinematical | Comment
Cinematical

All of the performances are very, very good, but it's too bad that Brock didn't spend more time developing the family relationships.

July 25, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

Extras on the disc include a 'making of' featurette and both outtakes and deleted scenes.

July 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

The highlight here is most certainly Julie Walters, who hams it up royally, and does a fine job of making her role as an aging actress more than just a cartoon character.

July 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | Comment
Apollo Guide

A warmly funny coming of age story as the ultra conservative clashes with the unconventional in a confluence of the unexpected

June 2, 2007 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

Típica besteira de cinema independente que se julga mais inteligente e observadora do que é na realidade. O surpreendente é perceber que, enquanto Walters e Linney apelam para caricaturas, o jovem Grint oferece uma atuação sólida e envolvente.

April 13, 2007 Comment
Cinema em Cena

Too many alcoholic outbursts and pitiful breakdowns wear down your patience.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

The film is anchored by Walter's brilliant performance. She has a field day with this rambunctious, pampered yet terribly insecure woman. Grint is often reduced to playing straight man, but his reactions are priceless and the fact that he and Walters have

January 11, 2007 Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | Comment
Murphy's Movie Reviews
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Driving Lessons

CAST: Rupert Grint, Julie Walters, Laura Linney, Nicholos Farrell, Oliver Miburn DIRECTED BY: Jeremy Brock SUMMARY: A coming of age story about a shy teenage boy trying to escape from the influence of his domineering mother. His world changes when he begins to work for a retired actress. MY THOUGHTS: It was exactly

August 7, 2009
LWOODS04
♥˩ƳИИ ƜѲѲƉƧ♥

Super Reviewer

very charming! rupert grint comin into his own. Julie Walters was GREAT!

October 10, 2009
MissMorganLeee
Morgan Salem

Super Reviewer

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