source: Driving Me Crazy

Driving Me Crazy

This movie was bad. Painfully bad. I am one of the ten or so people who actually saw this in the theater. I went with two friends on opening night and we were the only three people there. The first hint that the movie was bad was the premise: An East German inventor creates a car that runs on potatoes--or as he continually calls them "tubers." After the Berlin Wall falls, he moves to the U.S. to try to sell his invention. Most of the movie consists of painfully obvious "fish out of water"-type jokes. My assumption is that every actor and crew member who worked on it took the money and ran to cash their checks as quickly as possible. Avoid this movie like the plague. Please. Your brain will thank you.

I stumbled across this film on one those free movie networks. I thought I would watch for a few minutes to laugh at some of the cheesiness of the late 80's/early 90's, and I ended up watching the whole thing. The movie was indeed cheesy with mostly bad acting and a plot full of holes, but it's packed full of cerebral jokes and period references. Watch it by yourself, or with someone who appreciates that era, so you can relax and not feel guilty about laughing out loud. The lead actor does a good job and holds the movie together. There are blatant plugs for some of the products from that year. Also, Star Wars fans will recognize and appreciate a scene by Billy Dee Williams that parodies one of his scenes from Empire Strikes Back. Overall, a fun movie for anyone 35 or older. The young and/or cynical are just not going to get it.

This movie is a funny movie for when you don't want to have to do too much thinking. The actors were all well cast and Dom DeLuise especially brings this movie to life. I loved this movie and I recommend it to anyone and everyone.

To appreciate this movie the best you have to have lived in Germany during the 80s and 90s. My favorite scene is when Gunther looks for a bottle of Coke and is overwhelmed by "Coke with sugar, Coke without sugar, Coke with caffeine, Coke without caffeine, Coke with caffeine without sugar ... In Germany you only have one choice - Coke!" This was absolutely true! The reviewer who thought Gunther was saying his car runs on "tubers" is wrong. Gunther is saying "Rueben" which is the German word for Turnips. A car that runs on turnips is funnier than a car that runs on potatoes! "Driving Me Crazy" can be compared to "The Gods Must Be Crazy" (which I also like) in terms of comedy. Don't expect Woody Allen-type humor. Pretend you're back in junior high to enjoy this movie the most.

This was a fun movie. It's not to be taken seriously, and anyone who does will be disappointed. It's supposed to be a humorous take on the Trabbi and East/West Germany. Lighten up, folks. If you really know what's going on, you'll appreciate the subtle jokes more. I'd MUCH rather watch this again than Eurotrip, which was just a blatant take on American's view of Europe. Driving Me Crazy was refreshing and silly with mild historical undertones. Please, give this film a chance. I really enjoyed it and the people I showed it to did as well. This is a good movie to show a German class for a fun movie day or something.