Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo (1977)... is just about what you'd expect.
Happy New Year! I watched Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo! It was terrible!
Yes, I do have a copy of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo on my shelf (because it came in a four-movie set with the original, which was the only one I actually wanted). Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is possibly the most-referenced of the "Herbie" movies -- with second place going to "Herbie Goes Bananas" in the "ridiculous title" list.
I have a fondness for the original Herbie film, The Love Bug. (You know what? I'm not even sure why Herbie is called "The Love Bug" -- honestly, it seems like a deceitful title to attract randy hippies, who would then be too stoned and confused to ask for their money back.) I'm not even sure why I like the original film that much -- it's very strange. But, possibly because I didn't see them until I was an adult -- I can tell you that the Herbie sequels are really bad.
The Plot: For some reason, it's been twelve years since our hero, Dean Jones, has raced in his "alive" Volkswagon Bug, Herbie -- and for some reason, during that twelve years, his sidekick turned from Buddy Hackett into Don Knotts. He is making his racing comeback in a race from Paris to Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, in the second plot of the movie, a famous diamond was heisted from a Paris museum -- and the bumbling thieves hide the diamond in Herbie's gas tank! And in the third plot -- Herbie falls in love with another car, and causes problems and hijinx by trying to escape from his friends in order to see "her" -- which doesn't sit very well with the other car's driver, who is (of course) a female racing driver, competing against Dean Jones. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it ends just about the way you'd expect in a light-hearted romp written for babies -- i.e. don't come here expecting any shocks or surprises. Or laughs. Or amusement.
This is far happier than you will look after watching this movie.
... All right. I'll say it again. I like the original movie, The Love Bug. It's okay. It has some charming moments. But the sequels are pretty much embarrassing and terrible. And uninspired. And dull. And embarrassing. And terrible. This isn't even a good "bad" movie.
Why, oh why, did they think a car falling in love with another car would be a great plot element, out of which would come so much humor? Much less the diamond heist. Couldn't they think of enough things for our main characters to do without introducing a contrived thing like that? Couldn't Don Knotts fall down some stairs or something?
Cars in love. It's every bit as exciting as this looks.And then there were all these things they just didn't bother to explain. Like WHY hasn't Dean Jones raced in twelve years? They repeatedly say he hasn't raced in twelve years -- but WHY NOT? And what happened to the woman he was going to marry at the end of the first movie? Did they get married? Did they split up? Did she die? And what happened to his best friend, Buddy Hackett? Why was he replaced with Don Knotts? (Okay, I'd probably give them a mulligan on that one, since actors sometimes have to change and aren't available and so on and so forth... but, you know, if they had just explained one of those other points, I wouldn't be questioning this one!)
And characters? The woman was a shrill nightmare who screeched constantly, accusing Dean Jones of "not wanting women in racing"every time he tried to talk to her (even about totally unrelated topics). Seemed to me like she had just a bit too much of a chip on her shoulder to be a really nice, likeable character. The police characters and the jewel heisters were all right, but they weren't given anything particularly funny to do.
And I won't say "far-fetched" (because we're talking about a series of movies about a car that came to life and can fly if he wants to) ... but, really. I think I've talked before about suspension of disbelief, and how -- if there's a really big suspension you're asking me to make in order to accept the premise of your movie -- you should probably get the small points accurate, or else they're going to take me right out of the story.
FOR INSTANCE -- there is a point where Herbie's "face" gets dirty, and yet he's trying to impress his "girlfriend" -- so he drives across this grassy, flowered, median area in Paris and "washes his face" in a fountain. I've already accepted so many impossible things with this scene that when I saw Herbie driving through a busy street and across that manicured, flowered median area into that fountain, I just found it impossible to believe that there was no policeman or little Frenchman running after him, yelling at him not to drive on the lawn, over the flowers, or into the fountain. I just couldn't buy it. And it took me right out of the movie. (In fact, it took me so far out of the movie that I actually found myself in the other room, doing laundry. Laundry is quite preferable to watching this film.)
"You're thinking that I should be doing laundry because I'm a woman,
aren't you? AREN'T YOU?!!" The best parts of the film were probably the one or two times they let Don Knotts be funny. Oh, and Dean Jones is pretty likeable. That's about it. Other than that, unless you're a desperate Herbie-completionist, please skip this one.
But, do read this blog post about the last unrestored Herbie (the one from this movie, actually), which was on sale on eBay a couple years ago. Pretty interesting!
Not Shelf-Recommended.
Yes, I do have a copy of Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo on my shelf (because it came in a four-movie set with the original, which was the only one I actually wanted). Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo is possibly the most-referenced of the "Herbie" movies -- with second place going to "Herbie Goes Bananas" in the "ridiculous title" list.
I have a fondness for the original Herbie film, The Love Bug. (You know what? I'm not even sure why Herbie is called "The Love Bug" -- honestly, it seems like a deceitful title to attract randy hippies, who would then be too stoned and confused to ask for their money back.) I'm not even sure why I like the original film that much -- it's very strange. But, possibly because I didn't see them until I was an adult -- I can tell you that the Herbie sequels are really bad.
The Plot: For some reason, it's been twelve years since our hero, Dean Jones, has raced in his "alive" Volkswagon Bug, Herbie -- and for some reason, during that twelve years, his sidekick turned from Buddy Hackett into Don Knotts. He is making his racing comeback in a race from Paris to Monte Carlo. Meanwhile, in the second plot of the movie, a famous diamond was heisted from a Paris museum -- and the bumbling thieves hide the diamond in Herbie's gas tank! And in the third plot -- Herbie falls in love with another car, and causes problems and hijinx by trying to escape from his friends in order to see "her" -- which doesn't sit very well with the other car's driver, who is (of course) a female racing driver, competing against Dean Jones. I won't spoil the ending, but I will say it ends just about the way you'd expect in a light-hearted romp written for babies -- i.e. don't come here expecting any shocks or surprises. Or laughs. Or amusement.
This is far happier than you will look after watching this movie.... All right. I'll say it again. I like the original movie, The Love Bug. It's okay. It has some charming moments. But the sequels are pretty much embarrassing and terrible. And uninspired. And dull. And embarrassing. And terrible. This isn't even a good "bad" movie.
Why, oh why, did they think a car falling in love with another car would be a great plot element, out of which would come so much humor? Much less the diamond heist. Couldn't they think of enough things for our main characters to do without introducing a contrived thing like that? Couldn't Don Knotts fall down some stairs or something?
Cars in love. It's every bit as exciting as this looks.And then there were all these things they just didn't bother to explain. Like WHY hasn't Dean Jones raced in twelve years? They repeatedly say he hasn't raced in twelve years -- but WHY NOT? And what happened to the woman he was going to marry at the end of the first movie? Did they get married? Did they split up? Did she die? And what happened to his best friend, Buddy Hackett? Why was he replaced with Don Knotts? (Okay, I'd probably give them a mulligan on that one, since actors sometimes have to change and aren't available and so on and so forth... but, you know, if they had just explained one of those other points, I wouldn't be questioning this one!)And characters? The woman was a shrill nightmare who screeched constantly, accusing Dean Jones of "not wanting women in racing"every time he tried to talk to her (even about totally unrelated topics). Seemed to me like she had just a bit too much of a chip on her shoulder to be a really nice, likeable character. The police characters and the jewel heisters were all right, but they weren't given anything particularly funny to do.
And I won't say "far-fetched" (because we're talking about a series of movies about a car that came to life and can fly if he wants to) ... but, really. I think I've talked before about suspension of disbelief, and how -- if there's a really big suspension you're asking me to make in order to accept the premise of your movie -- you should probably get the small points accurate, or else they're going to take me right out of the story.
FOR INSTANCE -- there is a point where Herbie's "face" gets dirty, and yet he's trying to impress his "girlfriend" -- so he drives across this grassy, flowered, median area in Paris and "washes his face" in a fountain. I've already accepted so many impossible things with this scene that when I saw Herbie driving through a busy street and across that manicured, flowered median area into that fountain, I just found it impossible to believe that there was no policeman or little Frenchman running after him, yelling at him not to drive on the lawn, over the flowers, or into the fountain. I just couldn't buy it. And it took me right out of the movie. (In fact, it took me so far out of the movie that I actually found myself in the other room, doing laundry. Laundry is quite preferable to watching this film.)
"You're thinking that I should be doing laundry because I'm a woman,aren't you? AREN'T YOU?!!" The best parts of the film were probably the one or two times they let Don Knotts be funny. Oh, and Dean Jones is pretty likeable. That's about it. Other than that, unless you're a desperate Herbie-completionist, please skip this one.
But, do read this blog post about the last unrestored Herbie (the one from this movie, actually), which was on sale on eBay a couple years ago. Pretty interesting!
Not Shelf-Recommended.
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