| Herbie: Fully Loaded | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Angela Robinson |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by |
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| Based on | Characters by Gordon Buford |
| Produced by | Robert Simonds |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Edited by | Wendy Greene Bricmont |
| Music by | Mark Mothersbaugh |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[1] |
| Box office | $144.1 million[1] |
Herbie: Fully Loaded is a 2005 Americansportscomedy film directed byAngela Robinson from a screenplay byThomas Lennon,Robert Ben Garant, andSmallville co-creatorsAlfred Gough andMiles Millar. The film is the sixth and final installment in theHerbie film series, following the television filmThe Love Bug (1997), and the first theatrical film sinceHerbie Goes Bananas (1980). It serves as adirect sequel to the previous films. The film starsLindsay Lohan,Justin Long,Breckin Meyer,Matt Dillon, andMichael Keaton. It featurescameo appearances by manyNASCAR drivers, includingJeff Gordon,Jimmie Johnson,Tony Stewart, andDale Jarrett.
Herbie: Fully Loaded had its premiere at theLas Vegas Motor Speedway on May 10, 2005, and was released in the United States on June 22, 2005, byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution. The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, but positive reception from fans of theHerbie franchise. The film was a box-office success, grossing $144.1 million against a budget of $50 million.[1]
Herbie, aVolkswagen Beetle with a mind of his own, is decommissioned and towed to a junkyard after losing several races and losing his owner Jim Douglas. Elsewhere, Maggie Peyton, the youngest member of the Peyton racing clan, graduates from college and is preparing to take up an internship withESPN inNew York. Her father, Ray Peyton Sr., takes her to the junkyard to buy her a car as a present, and she chooses Herbie after he wriggles free of a crane, landing on top of the car she originally selected. Herbie then takes Maggie to her mechanic friend Kevin, who agrees to take them to a car show to buy parts. Herbie tricks Maggie into disguising herself in a racing suit and helmet and challengingNASCAR champion Trip Murphy to an impromptu race, which Herbie wins by a hair.
Kevin happily suggests that Maggie should race full-time, but Ray Sr. is concerned, having forbidden Maggie to race due to astreet racing accident years ago. Trip becomes obsessed with Herbie and the mysterious driver and organizes a local racing competition to lure Herbie back for a rematch. Maggie and Kevin enter the event, with Herbie being given a new 'street racer look' and new parts. Herbie and Maggie easily defeat the other competitors and qualify for the final match with Trip, but when Trip talks Maggie intoracing for pink slips, Herbie's jealousy over Maggie's desire to win Trip'sstock car causes him and Maggie to lose the race. Maggie is publicly embarrassed, Herbie is towed away, and both Kevin and Ray Sr. express their disappointment with Maggie over her respective actions.
Encouraged by her friend Charisma, Maggie decides to race professionally. She tries to buy Herbie back from Trip but finds that he has entered Herbie in ademolition derby. Desperate to save Herbie from destruction, Maggie rushes to the arena, runs onto the field while the derby is in progress, and pleads with Herbie to forgive her. After he saves her from being crushed by a monster truck, the two manage to escape the arena and win the derby. They return to Kevin's workshop, where the badly damaged Herbie collapses from exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Peyton racing team may have to forfeit an upcomingNASCAR Nextel Cup Series race due to financial troubles and two crashes by Ray Peyton Jr., the team's driver and Maggie's brother. Ray Sr. still refuses to let Maggie drive for the team, but Ray Jr. decides on his own that she will take his place and sends the Team Peyton crew to help her, and Kevin rebuild Herbie into a NASCAR racer. At the racetrack, Maggie and Herbie have a heart-to-heart conversation, while Trip ominously warns Maggie that the race will be dangerous.
Herbie and Maggie start the race slowly, but they eventually catch up and begin passing the other cars before Maggie makes her first pit stop. Meanwhile, Ray Sr., who has been watching the race at home, decides to join the team to act as Maggie's crew chief. Back on track, Herbie is soon boxed in by some other cars but escapes by driving directly overTony Stewart's car, damaging Herbie's oil system. Maggie makes another pit stop and the team hurriedly extracts a replacement part from the yellowNew Beetle, which Herbie has been eyeing amorously throughout the film, owned by Sally, one of Team Peyton's few remaining sponsors, though the jerry-rigged oil system is fragile.
With the last few laps remaining, Maggie and Herbie catch up to Trip. Trip, bent on defeating Herbie once and for all, tries to force Maggie into the track wall when she tries to pass him, but crashes himself when she slams on the brakes during his next attempt, resulting in him hittingJeff Gordon and flipping onto his roof. Herbie passes Trip's car, now upside down on the track, by climbing onto the catch fencing. After landing back on the track, Maggie and Herbie take the chequered flag, and Maggie becomes the next Peyton to win a NASCAR race. Maggie is congratulated by her father and brother, and Trip (who is believed to be insane when he tries to convince others that Herbie is sentient) is driven away in an ambulance as Maggie and Kevin kiss. The film ends with Ray speaking with Herbie and Sally's New Beetle (which is revealed to be sentient as well), telling them not to stay out too long on their date as Herbie and Maggie have another race coming up.
Director Angela Robinson stated in an interview that she attempted to haveDean Jones reprise his role as Jim Douglas for a cameo, but due to scheduling problems he was unable to do so. These circulated false rumors alleging Jones had filmed the cameo and the scene had been deleted.[2]
Several racing personalities appear in cameo roles as themselves, including UNH announcerAllen Bestwick, 1973 NASCAR championBenny Parsons and ESPN broadcasterStuart Scott. Various real-life NASCAR drivers and/or their cars from the 2004 racing season can also be seen, including Dale Jarrett,Dale Earnhardt Jr. (car only),Casey Mears (car only),Kasey Kahne,Jeremy Mayfield (car only), Tony Stewart,J. J. Yeley,Bobby Labonte (car only),Terry Labonte (car only),Brendan Gaughan,Mark Martin (car only),Ward Burton (car only),Carl Edwards (car only),Jimmy Spencer (car only),Mike Bliss (car only),Scott Wimmer (car only),Greg Biffle (car only),Jamie McMurray (car only),Rusty Wallace (car only),Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson,Kyle Busch,Kurt Busch (car only),Elliott Sadler (car only),Matt Kenseth (car only),Michael Waltrip (car only),Ryan Newman (car only),Scott Riggs (car only),Boris Said,Joe Nemechek (car only),Bill Elliott (car only),Sterling Marlin (car only),Jeff Burton (car only),Ken Schrader (car only),Morgan Shepherd (car only),Jeff Fuller (car only),Bobby Hamilton Jr. (car only),Robby Gordon (car only), andKevin Harvick (car only).[citation needed]
In their 2011 screenwriting how-to bookWriting Movies For Fun (And Profit),Robert Ben Garant &Thomas Lennon, two of the film's co-writers, explained their original starting idea for the Herbie remake: "We are both very big fans of the old The Love Bug movies... but the old Herbie movies are corny in a way you can't get away with today... We needed to put Herbie in a much more real world. Not some dopey, illogical, kids-movie world, with characters like the crotchety old junk lot owner twirling his mustache and swearing, 'I'm gonna get that little car if it's the last thing I ever do!!!' Kids hate that kind of stupid s*** as much as grown-ups do... We set it in a very realistically portrayed world of San Fernando Valley Street racing: a macho world, where an old, beat-up car would get laughed at -- then be totally respected when it won some races."[3]
They further elucidated on the experience: "We turned in the first draft, and the movie was greenlit... They were that confident of the movie. Off the first draft... [but] here's where it gets interesting/horrible. We were no longer dealing directly with [then-Disney president Bob Iger]. We were now dealing with a studio executive under the president.This executive was not in the room when we sold the pitch. This executive was not there when [Iger] gave us notes on the script... This executive had no agenda. This exec wasn't making a power play. This executive just genuinely didn't understand the movie and what [Iger] had liked about it."[3]
Principal photography began on August 2, 2004, inLos Angeles[4] and wrapped up later that same November.[5] During the2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season, driversDale Jarrett andScott Riggs ran special paint schemes to promote the film.[6]
The film was reported to include heavy uses ofproduct placement. For example, Maggie Peyton is a former reporter forESPN (owned by Disney) turned NASCAR driver. A huge billboard for Mid America Motorworks (an aftermarket parts supplier for classicVolkswagens and other vehicles) is seen in the background of the scene where Murphy attempts to sabotage Herbie. In addition, Volkswagen provided aVolkswagen Touareg and aVolkswagen New Beetle for use in certain scenes,General Motors also provided the 2005Chevrolet Corvette and 2005Pontiac GTO for use in race scenes as well.[a][7]
Various race cars in the Nextel Cup Series appear during the race at the end, with action sequences being filmed during the2004 Target House 300 Busch Series race atCalifornia Speedway on September 4, 2004, and the2004 Pop Secret 500 Cup Series race also atCalifornia Speedway on September 5, 2004. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 car is seen briefly, but it has all theBudweiser logos removed and replaced with his signature to avoid advertising alcohol in a children's film. In addition, billboards can be seen in straightaway scenes, some with theNEXTEL logo on them. Also, in the scene where Maggie pretends to drive a stock car in the junkyard, Dominic Toretto's 1970 Dodge Charger fromThe Fast and the Furious can be seen among the cars.KITT from the classicKnight Rider series also makes a cameo in the newspaper during the opening sequence.[citation needed]ABC Family aired amaking-of featurette titledHerbie: Fully Loaded and Retooled, hosted by Lohan, on June 21, 2005, to promote the film release.[citation needed]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12,709,221 in 3,521 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking number four at the box office. By the end of its run,Herbie: Fully Loaded grossed $66,023,816 domestically and $78,123,000 internationally, totaling $144,146,816 worldwide.[1]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 141 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critics consensus states that "Herbie: Fully Loaded is a decent kids movie that is pretty undemanding for adult viewers."[8] The film, along withHerbie Goes Bananas, which also scored a 40% rating, is the lowest rated entry in the franchise.[9] OnMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[10] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade "A" on an A+ to F scale.[11]
Roger Ebert gave the film a two out of four stars, stating: "The movie is pretty cornball. Little kids would probably enjoy it, but their older brothers and sisters will be rolling their eyes, and their parents will be using theiriPods."[12] William Thomas ofEmpire gave the film a two out of five stars and said: "Every bit as good (and bad) asHerbie Goes Bananas; but the Love Bug deserves better performances."[13]
At the 2006Kids' Choice Awards, Lohan won "Favorite Female Actress" for her role. The film was also nominated for "Favorite Movie" but lost toHarry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actress Comedy: Lindsay Lohan | Nominated |
| Choice Summer Movie | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie | ||
| Favorite Movie Actress: Lindsay Lohan | Won |
| Herbie: Fully Loaded (Original Soundtrack) | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | June 21, 2005 |
| Length | 52:40 |
| Label | Hollywood |
| Singles from Herbie: Fully Loaded | |
The soundtrack album was released on June 21, 2005. It includes Lohan's 2004 song "First", and remakes of classic songs byWalt Disney Records artists includingAly & A.J., Caleigh Peters,Ingram Hill andJosh Kelley, and big names such asLionel Richie andMark McGrath. The album does not, however, contain any ofMark Mothersbaugh's original score for the film.[citation needed]
Despite most of the songs' original recordings appearing in the film itself, the soundtrack contains remakes only on the album. For example,the Beach Boys' original recording of "Getcha Back" is used for the film's opening credits, but the Mark McGrath cover is featured on the soundtrack.[citation needed]
TheGirls Aloud single "Long Hot Summer" was planned to be included and put the British band into the American market, but was cut from the final film.[15]
Herbie's audience was comprised of families, and they seemed to like it, grading it an "A," according to CinemaScore.
