As a kid I was a fan of movies like Cannonball Run and have always admired the panache that often went into shows belonging to that genre, so I had high expectations for the new Fox show Drive and was willing for it to be great, and to enjoy it, at least as one of my guilty pleasures. But I am sad to report that from its very first episode Drive drove right off the road.
Let the Race die
Drive is an action-fueled drama following a diverse group of Americans who are competing for their lives (or, in some cases, for the lives of their loved ones) in an illegal, underground, cross-country road race. Some of them have been coerced into joining The Race, others have sought out The Race themselves, hearing rumors of the $32-million prize. Each competitor has a reason why they must win.
The show munges the theme of a maverick driving race together with the theme of desperate competition borrowed from Michael Douglas’ white-knuckle movie, The Game. Drive simply fails to deliver on its premise. The race itself, with cars bouncing off each other, and hirsute truckers helping drivers in trouble fails to impress in this day of off-the-meter special effects.
Drive Cast, beside Melanie Lynskey a rather poor choice.
Drive got off to a rather cheesy start. The back-stories of the characters are simply unbelievable. One father, for example, pulls his daughter out of school and drives her to Key West, but doesn’t tell her until after the first meeting — the “orientation” — about his plans to compete.
There’s no explanation of how the girl could have possibly not twigged what daddy intended to do from the meeting.
Another scene that didn’t work was when one desperate husband, Alex, slams a man’s head on the table demanding to know where his wife is. The guy gets up looking as though getting his head slammed 10 times in a row wouldn’t mess up the part in his hair, and tells Alex that he won’t reveal the wife’s location unless Alex wins the race. Who can suspend disbelief far enough to accept a scene like that? I’m not a violent person, but in that situation I would have snapped the guy’s little finger and then repeated the demand. What husband in that situation wouldn’t take the discussion “to the next level” in order to get the answer right away.
Melanie Lynskey, who plays Wendy Patrakas, is the best thing in Drive. She’s a new mother who is on the run from her husband and competing for the safety of her newborn baby. As in Two and a Half Men and Flags of our Fathers Lynskey again proves once more she can actually act. She is funny, witty, and plays her character with warmth and heart.
But for the rest, I am sorry to report that you should pass Drive by unless you don’t have anything else to watch on TV and the laundry is already done.
