This movie is one of my very favourite 80’s movies, clearly proviong that you just can’t seem to beat the on-screen charisma of the two Corey’s. Although the lesser Corey (Haim) is playing the lead in this flick, I must admit, he played the role of Les well and even had me believing at certain points that Heather Graham really could fall in love with a midget. I'm not sure if Corey H. just hadn't finished growing yet, but he just seems so short in his body of work from the 80's, whereas in recent photos he doesn't look so short. Drug ravaged and permanently out of it, yes, but short? No.

The story goes a little something like this...

Les Anderson can’t wait to get his license. He dreams about it in class at school. His life is completely ruled by the prospect of that one little piece of cardboard being his ticket to freedom. In his fantasies, a cool car and a license are also the key to getting the school’s biggest babe, Mercedes Lane, to fall in love with him. But alas, Les is a geek with no car and no license, and due to the fact that he never pays attention in driver’s ed class, not much prospect of getting one.

But when Mercedes has a fight with her boyfriend at a party, Les just happens to be at the right place at the right time. She grabs him in an attempt to make the older man jealous and says that they have a date. Les is stoked! Now all he needs is that license! Oh yeah, and find out if Mercedes actually means what she said about going out with him. Les gets his lucky break when his father picks him up for a driving lesson in his grandfathers prized Cadillac that his family are looking after for him. He spots Mercedes walking home and convinces his Dad to let him take the car for a few minutes to impress her. Unfortunately for Les, she's not going home. She's off to a friend's place on the other side of town. Les drives her there, but leaves his fuming father on the sidewalk with an armful of groceries in order to do so.

The day of the test finally arrives, and Les finds out the hard way that falling asleep and dreaming about Mercedes has done nothing for his driving knowledge. He fails his test, but after hitting his computer in frustration, he causes the whole network to go down. The manager of the DMV chooses to pass Les, because his twin sister Natalie (who is the complete opposite to Les) passed with a perfect score. Les manages to pass hurdle one, but his driving ability test is going to be anything but easy. 

While Natalie seems to have landed the driving instructor from heaven, Les' seems to be straight from the pits of hell. He is quick to inform Les that unlike other instructors, he doesn't use a clipboard - just a cup of hot coffee precariously placed on the edge of the dash. Now off into the traffic!

Miraculously, Les survives his exam not only in one piece, but with a passing mark! But as he is leaving, the manager calls him over to deliver him some awful news. The DMV managed to retrieve his test score and are taking his newly acquired license away. Les lies to his friends and family about failing, but when his mother finds the test report in his pocket, the truth is out. Les still has a date with Mercedes, but how will he get there? There is however, a solution. Sneak out to the garage after his parents are asleep – and cruise off in his grandfathers shiny Cadillac.

It seems like the perfect plan, but poor Les doesn't realise that what can go worng, most definitely will go wrong, and on a grand scale. In a matter of a few hours, Les manages to get his grandfathers car towed away and then scratched and dented by a drunk Mercedes dancing on the bonnet in high heels. Not one to take defeat easily, Les gets his friend Dean (Feldog!) to fix the car, and he convinces Les that the night is young and there’s still time to party. Stupidly, Les agrees…Mercedes has passed out in the back of the car with Dean, so he's all for the idea of stuffing her in the trunk and heading to a diner on the outskirts of town to pick up chicks. One again, stupidly, Les agrees.

Their stay at the diner doesn't last long as they manage to damage a car belonging to some tough punk looking dudes and hightail it out of there. Les' worst fears are about to become a reality when they run into cops who are breath testing drivers. les admits to his friends that he failed his license, and tries to tell the cops he left it at home. The cops are called away to a nearby protest, but while the boys weren't looking, the drunk guy from the car ahead of them has jumped into their car and driven off causing all sorts of damage. Les does manage to get the car back, but it's a wreck. He takes his friends and a completely oblivious, but happy Mercedes home, and heads back to his place to deal with his impending doom.

Les' luck just isn't getting any better. As soon as her manages to get the Cadillac back in the garage, his father appears with his heavily pregnant mother, who has just gone into labour. Unwilling to let her husband go, she demands that Les drive to the hospital, even though the car no longer goes forward, he can only drive it in reverse. He manages to get his mother the hospital, but leaves the car in a construction zone. And just when Les thinks things couldn't get any worse, a construction beam falls down with a huge crash, crushing what is left of the car.

This is yet another of those movies that I can remember watching when I was old enough to have a crush on both the Corey’s, but still young enough to have most of the jokes in the film fly straight over my head. Ahh youth. And what can I say – I’m a sucker for a happy ending. And Corey Feldman.