“Driven” – PG-13 – New This Week to Video/DVD
The last few movies that Sylvester Stallone has been in have left a bad taste in my mouth. It seems he is taking on scripts with no real meaning or interesting story lines. That is what I expected of “Driven.” Sly did help write the screenplay and he produced the movie, so why wouldn’t I come to the conclusion that it would stink? Well, I was pleasantly surprised that I had been wrong in my assumption. The ‘other’ critics may not agree, but I thought this one is worth a shot.
The Story:
Carl Henry (Burt Reynolds) owns a race team. His star driver is a young kid named Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue). He is in the middle of the racing season and ahead of the competition, but is becoming overwhelmed with the aspect of being a star. Carl asks one of his old racing guys, Joe (Sly Stallone), to comeback in and give the kid some guidance.
Jimmy is under a lot of pressure, most of which is coming from his brother (Robert Sean Leonard) who is also his manager. Jimmy can’t handle the pressure of press conferences, public appearances and everything else that goes with being in first place. Joe starts helping him with his driving strategies and how to handle the pressure: “Just drive because you love it!”
About the Movie:
Jan Skrentny, Neal Tabachnick and Sylvester Stallone wrote “Driven” and Renny Harlin directed it.
I’ll start with what was wrong with the movie in my eyes. First, the love story. I can’t stand when a film has to add an unnecessary love story for the sake of making it gender-friendly. If it doesn’t fit in the movie, then just Leave it Out! The love story was actually a triangle between Jimmy, his rival racer Beau (Til Schweiger) and Sophia (Estella Warren). Both Beau and Sophia were necessary parts of the plot, but the love story was
left choppy and unrealistic.
The second thing I thought was a mistake in the movie was the part of Cathy (Gina Gershon), Joe’s ex-wife. Her role was not needed at all. I don’t even think it explained any of Joe’s past which is what it was probably supposed to do.
Like I said in the beginning, it was a pretty good movie. Why, you ask? The racing was exciting. I am not usually (Ok, Never) a fan of racecar driving, but that changes when you care about the characters doing the driving. Jimmy was wonderful! He was cute as a button and also endearing. This was only the 4th movie for Kip Pardue, but it has given him a lot of exposure. Since “Driven” he has made 4 more films. He has a star like quality that will attract many kinds of viewers.
Sly Stallone was also pretty good in this movie. His role was not the lead, although his name was. He was in it just enough to get the point across, but not too much to give the over-kill effect he’s been giving lately (Example: “Get Carter”). The supporting cast in this was also terrific, except the above mentioned Gina Gershon. She did do a fine job, but it was just an unexciting role. A great addition to this cast was Chilean newcomer, Christián de la Fuente. He was cute, humorous and refreshing!
All in all, I liked this movie. It was a different kind of movie for me to like, but I did. I would recommend it whether you are a racecar or racing fan or not.
Enjoy!
©2001 KAC