Crash Course

Crash Course
(also known as Driving Academy)

VHS cover of Crash Course
Directed by Oz Scott
Produced by Maj Canton
Irv Wilson
Written by William A. Schwartz
Starring Jackée
Alyssa Milano
Brian Bloom
Harvey Korman
Olivia d'Abo
Tina Yothers
Edie McClurg
Music by Mark Davis
Cinematography Bernd Heinl
Editing by Duane Hartzell
Studio Fries Entertainment
Distributed by NBC (original)
MGM Worldwide Television (current)
Release date(s) January 17, 1988
Running time 95 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Crash Course (also known as Driving Academy) is a 1988 made for television teen film directed by Oz Scott.

Contents

Plot

Crash Course centers on a group of high schoolers in a driver’s education class; many for the second or third time. The recently divorced teacher, super-passive Larry Pearl, is on thin ice with the football fanatic principal, Principal Paulson, who is being pressured by the district superintendent to raise driver’s education completion rates or lose his coveted football program. With this in mind, Principal Paulson and his assistant, with a secret desire for his job, Abner Frasier, hire an outside driver’s education instructor with a very tough reputation, Edna Savage, aka E.W. Savage, who quickly takes control of the class.

The plot focuses mostly on the students and their interactions with their teachers and each other. In the beginning, Rico is the loner with just a few friends, Chadley is the bookish nerd with few friends who longs to be cool and also longs to be a part of Vanessa’s life who is the young, friendly and attractive girl who had to fake her mother’s signature on her driver’s education permission slip. Kichi is the hip-hop Asian kid who often raps what he has to say and constantly flirts with Maria, the rich foreign girl who thinks that the right-of-way on the roadways always goes to (insert awesomely fake foreign Latino accent) “my father’s limo”. Finally you have stereotypical football meathead J.J., who needs to pass his English exam to keep his eligibility and constantly asks out and gets rejected by Alice, the tomboy whose father owns “Santini & Son” Concrete Company. Alice is portrayed as being the “son” her father wanted.

As the movie progresses, the students’ relationships with their teacher, each other and their driving abilities all begin to improve. Friendships are formed in and out of the classroom. All the while Abner, Acting Principal while Paulson is out of town, is spying on the entire bunch, teachers and students, and constantly calling the superintendent with the purpose of smearing the reputation of Principal Paulson in hopes of taking his job. In the meantime, Edna, who was initially cool and somewhat hostile to Larry, begins to see him in a new light. At the same time, Larry, who was initially a nervous and passive man due mainly to stress involving his ex-wife and their divorce proceedings, becomes more assertive and confident in himself, which Edna finds very attractive.

Just as things start to look up for the class in school and at home, an untimely accident involving Chad, Vanessa and the driver’s education car brings the entire class closer together. Literally, each character, save for Abner whose attempts to take over as principal are thwarted by the progression of all the characters and the timely return of Principal Paulson, reaches a point in their life where they seem happy with themselves, their relationships with their friends and their relationships with their parents. Ultimately, all the kids pass the course with flying colors, and Larry and Edna end up falling in love and entering into a romantic relationship.

Cast

Teens
Other

Reception

References

External links