Driver's Ed

High school senior Jeremy (Sam Nivola, The White Lotus) and his college freshman girlfriend Samantha (Lilah Pate) are committed to a long-distance relationship. After all, it’s not that far between their home and Chapel Hill, North Carolina where she’s attending school. But the separation is wearing on Jeremy.

It’s embarrassing enough that he’s obviously lovelorn — and that the high school principal (Molly Shannon) hassles him for sexting in class. But when a drunken call from Samantha — during a frat party no less — makes him doubt where they stand, Jeremy decides to take matters into his own hands. He steals the driver’s ed car from his school and hits the road. He’s accompanied by a decidedly motley crew: weary drug dealer/stoner Yoshi (Aidan Laprete); prudish valedictorian Aparna (Mohana Krishan); and loner Evie (Sophie Telegadis). Plus his principal and driving instructor (Kumail Nanjiani) are in hot pursuit.

Directed by Bobby Farrelly (There’s Something About Mary, among countless other hits) and written by actor/writer Thomas Moffett, Driver’s Ed is a charming and lively romantic comedy about what happens to young love when it runs smack into different realities, new opportunities, and the fact that absence does not necessarily make the heart grow fonder.

Propelled by a talented young cast playing memorable characters, Driver’s Ed is a genial reminder that heartbreak and loneliness are powerful no matter where you are on the road of life.