Four films were made by the Disney Studios with Herbie the enchanted Volkswagen during the Seventies and Eighties and the little car with a heart proved to be quite a money maker. So much so that the Disney Studios decided that once more around the NASCAR track was a good deal for the Magic Kingdom. They even got the current teen queen Lindsay Lohan to star in this one.
One thing you can bet on, with her current publicity both with her substance abuse problems, her parental problems, and all the speculation about her sexual orientation, Lindsay's pretty well gone as a star of G rated movies from Disney. I hope her adult career which shows a lot of promise with Georgia Rule is a big success for her.
She's outgrown Herbie for sure. In this film she's the daughter of former NASCAR great Michael Keaton and she'd like to follow him. But he being the old fashioned type says do more girlish type things. A trip to the auto junkyard for a used car brings her in contact with Herbie who seems to have fallen on bad times. But it's an instant karma for Lindsay and Herbie. He even brings about a reunion of Lindsay with a former boyfriend who is a mechanic. Talk about one practical thinking bug.
Villain of this film is NASCAR driver Matt Dillon, one rather arrogant individual who Herbie shows up. And Dillon KNOWS it's the car outsmarting him, that it's haunted somehow, but of course like in all these films can't get anyone to believe him. He uses some psychology on Herbie and it almost works though.
Herbie Fully Loaded is nothing special, the franchise has run low on gas with this one. Back in the day such folks as Don Knotts and Buddy Hackett were great foils for the car, but they're gone now and no one took their place for this film. Still Lindsay's fans will appreciate though I'm sure she's glad to be doing more adult stuff now.
