Herbie: Fully Loaded

Every time Lindsay Lohan and Disney have joined forces to update a kiddie movie from the studio's slapdash period of the 1960s and '70s, they've come away with a winner. Like 1998's The Parent Trap and 2003's hilarious Freaky Friday, this revival is a witty and creative follow-up to the dumb but endearing The Love Bug movies about a race-crazy Volkswagen Beetle that comes to life. Lohan plays the speed-demon daughter of a struggling NASCAR driver (Michael Keaton) grounded from racing after a bad crash. For her high school graduation present, Daddy takes her to a junkyard to pick out a fixer-upper, and she reluctantly chooses the rusty, forgotten Herbie (and gets far more than she bargained for, of course). Impromptu street races with the little Beetle taking control lead to a nitrous-fueled desert showdown, then a demolition derby, and--after some serious souping-up with a roll cage, fat tires, a spoiler, and passing mention of a rules loophole--a shot at NASCAR glory. Clever and at times even subtle, Herbie: Fully Loaded enthusiastically embraces its own absurdity and victoriously emerges as a fun film, even though it does stumble over a handful of conspicuously nonsensical plot points. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Angela Robinson, “A Day at the Races” featurette about race car driving (14 min.), a “Bringing Herbie to Life” featurette about the car and its personality (12 min.), seven deleted scenes with optional commentary (12 min.), a “Breaking the Rules” featurette on stunts (9 min.), a blooper reel (6 min.), an alternate title opening (4 min.), star Lindsay Lohan's music video “First” (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a solid Disney live-action film.] (R. Blackwelder)