The Love Bug [VHS]

The Love Bug [VHS]
by Peyton Reed

The Love Bug [VHS]

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Product details

Actor: Alexandra Wentworth, Bruce Campbell, Dana Gould, John Hannah, Kevin J. O'Connor
Director: Peyton Reed
Producer: George Zaloom
Producer: Irwin Marcus
Producer: Joan Van Horn
Writer: Bill Walsh
Writer: Don DaGradi
Writer: Gordon Buford
Writer: Ryan Rowe
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Original recording reissued
Running Time: 88 minutes
Release Date: 2001-04-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Studio: Walt Disney Video

VHS Movie Reviews of The Love Bug [VHS]

Movie Review: Remake Of Magical Original
Summary: 3 Stars

I first saw this movie on tv years ago and have tracked it down on VHS. The rule regarding remakes is the same plot but with a but of a 'face-lift' and in most cases they are never really as good as the original. Rarely they surpass the original. This modern version of 'The Love Bug' for me was not better them the original but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

I love Herbie (who doesn't. Whats not too love? He's the cutest little car. There is no car on the planet that can make me smile like a classic VW Bug. This movie was ok, it might not be for everyone, but if you love Herbie check it out for yourself and make your own mind up.

Movie Review: My son loved it
Summary: 5 Stars

I bought this as a gift for my son and he loved it. Price was reasonable also. He wanted to convert it to DVD and did so with no bad spots in it.

Movie Review: Herbie is back but he seems to be running in second gear..
Summary: 2 Stars

I suppose you have to consider this weird 1990's movie a sequel/remake of the famous 1960's movie with the same title produced by Disney studios. But after watching it through there was just something missing that the other films, even the poorly made sequels prior to this, seemed to have that this just didn't.

Let me start out by saying that I am a big fan of Herbie and The Love Bug (Special Edition) that this is based off of. The idea of the original movie is that of a little VW bug who is alive and has a mind of its own and helps his driver accomplish all sorts of amazing things. The characters were funny, the situations amusing and the various situations we found ourselves in were fun.

Fast Forward almost 30 years later and well.. what happened?

This was a made to TV movie and that fact really shows. The acting is a bit flat during most of this, and the script is less than inspiring and really just a weird strange remake of the original movie with a lot of changes thrown in to give it a more 90s flare to it. But then again not really as that is an insult to the original film to say this is on the same level as it.

This time we find number 53, the car with a mind of its own, Herbie in possession of a self centered cheat of a driver named Scott (played by John Hannah) who Herbie refuses to race well for. Scott orders poor Herbie destroyed and thus we fast forward to the junk yard where another down on his luck racer played by Bruce Campbell named Hank Cooper, comes into possession of it. Only to unexpectedly do well in said car and impress some folks including his old girlfriend Alex, played by Alexandra Wentworth. Lets just say a rivalry (and a silly one at that) between Scott and Hank develops. This leads to Scott finding the original creator of Herbie to build him his own VW bug that will be just like Herbie just not as nice. Throw in a slight love story, a sad moment when Horace the Hate Bug (as the new evil car is called) attacks Herbie and a cameo by original Herbie owner from the original Love Bug shows up, namely one Jim Douglas played by Dean Jones and you pretty much have the whole idea behind the movie in a nutshell.

I wanted to like this movie, I really did try. I just found myself wondering why they were bothering. The script is weak, the use of characters even weaker and the whole situation was ridiculous and rushed feeling. Even by made for tv standards this feels like a B movie. The charm and magic that the previous movies had is just void here.

The whole back story of how Herbie was invented was a bit ridiculous as well. In a way it ruined the whole mystery and mystique that is Herbie. And the very idea that another can be created so easily was a poor plot device.

The subpar aspects of this movie clearly out weighted the good ones. The plot, acting, B Movie like feel and lack of an interesting situations at any point of this movie was what will always keep this movie from being thought of as one of the gems that Disney has created over the years. The bad guy was no where near as much fun as Thorndike or even the snotty racer from Herbie - Fully Loaded, which is by far a better sequel than this ever could hope to be.

It isn't a total dud though. Seeing Herbie again after so many years was nice. Too bad he was only a shell of himself. Seeming to talk in beeps and blinks with his headlights and lacking any character and spunk that the ones we had seen previously had without resorting to such silliness.

The best part of course that most fans will love about this movie is the fact that Dean Jones has a nice cameo in this movie reprising his Jim Douglas role. It is only short lived and the script is so bad that his moment isn't as much fun as it could have been, either way it was a nice nod to where we were before we reached this weird point. Seeing Jim in that car again, made me wish this movie was more about him and less on the flat actors who couldn't save this movie even with a good script to work with.

This movie is only available via VHS so before you go out to get what may be a bit costly, just don't have your expectations too high. It is great that Disney wanted to give a new life to a fan favorite character such as Herbie, but if they are going to do it , at least spend a little budget on the script and make the situation much more fun than it turned out to be.

Some may like this for the few good points, but to me this should have and could have been so much better and it even makes Herbie Goes Bananas not seem that bad. And that in itself is a statement one should never have to make.

Sorry Herbie.. this is one time staying in the junkyard away from this nonsense maybe wasn't the worst thing.

Movie Review: herbie and jim
Summary: 3 Stars

The best and enduring part of this movie is seeing Herbie himself after so many years - and - Dean Jones returning as Jim Douglas. It seems weird to say there is chemistry between a man and a car but Herbie and Jim have it!!! Thanks Disney, for the memories.

Movie Review: A Guilty Pleasure
Summary: 4 Stars

Let's face it, the original "Love Bug" is one of Disney's best live-action films (if not THE best). There is very little chance any remake could even come close to the charm of the original. This "Love Bug" starring Bruce Campbell doesn't deliver as other reviewers have said, but I couldn't help enjoying the heck out of it.

1. I love Herbie and always will, in whatever vehicle he appears in (forgive the pun:)).
2. I love Bruce Campbell. This is definitely not his best performance, but there was more than enough of the Bruce I know and love to carry this film for me.
3. Dean Jones--I actually started to cry when he showed up.
4. John Hannah. Not only is he the second most adorable Scotsman on the planet (LOTR's Billy Boyd is the first), he was so incredibly fun as the comic villain, I would have given this film 3 stars for him alone.

No, it isn't "Citizen Cane," but it is my guilty Herbie pleasure.

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Summary of The Love Bug [VHS]

The box office success of Disney's 1969 classic The Love Bug inspired a slew of Herbie sequels, and, ultimately, this 1997 remake. Though remakes occasionally best the original (consider Disney's The Parent Trap), this one does not. It is difficult to match the talents of the original cast--namely Dean Jones, Buddy Hackett, and David Tomlinson. At least the car hasn't diminished during its 30-year absence. Herbie is still the smart, quirky Volkswagen Beetle with the same affinity for fast driving and rescuing arrogant-but-charming, washed-up racecar drivers to give them a new life and a new love. In this case, Herbie's progeny is Hank Cooper (played by hunky Bruce Campbell of the Evil Dead trilogy), who acquires Herbie by lottery from the junkyard. Herbie comes to life and begins his usual shenanigans, from popping wheelies to slamming his trunk on the fingers of evildoers, primarily one Simon Moore III (John Hannah). This wealthy, wicked numbskull sold Herbie before realizing his powers and now seeks revenge by creating Herbie's evil twin--a menacing black Beetle. The rest of the story repeats history, yet does so with passionless drudgery. Thankfully, there are two notable highlights: one, a brief cameo appearance by Jones (Herbie's owner, Jim Douglas, from the original film) who lends his larger-than-life persona for an all-too-brief moment; the other, Kevin J. O'Connor, who plays Herbie's eccentric and faithful mechanic, and does so with earnest zeal. The film's slapstick humor and happy ending make for solid family entertainment, but the original reigns supreme. --Lynn Gibson

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