Coming of age a pretty dull affair in 'Driving Lessons'

Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 3, 2006 at midnight

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In what amounts to a major change of pace, Rupert Grint departs from the Harry Potter series in which he plays the irrepressible Ron Weasley. Driving Lessons gives Grint an opportunity to play an unhappy adolescent, a young man struggling to grow up in a repressive environment.

That's not exactly a novel premise, which may explain why this British coming-of-age story inspires too little excitement. Grint portrays Ben Marshall, a vicar's son who falls under the sway of a mostly washed- up but still self-impressed actress (Julie Walters).

Loosely based on writer-director Jeremy Brock's life - he worked for Peggy Aschcroft when he was a lad - the movie mixes tones, lacing quirky comedy with a layer of stern drama, all the while showcasing an outsize character, Walters' Evie Walton. And, yes, Walters seems to be having a grand time overplaying her hand as an actress who treats every encounter as an opportunity for theatrical display.

When Grint's Ben, a 17-year-old with a domineering mother (Laura Linney flashing a cast-iron smile) goes to work as Evie's assistant, she immediately encourages him to stop worrying about propriety and surrender to his inner poet. The kid has scribbled a few lines.

Grint handles miserable adolescence with the requisite skill, but the movie probably gives short shrift to the more serious issues it raises. Linney's character eventually reveals herself as a dazzling hypocrite, and Ben's wimpy father (Nicholas Farrell) refuses to assert himself.

No British comedy can be called complete without a measure of peculiarity. Driving Lessons delivers some of its oddball color in the form of a cross-dressing man (Jim Norton). He lives in the vicar's home.

Somewhere near the midpoint, Brock begins to mix coming-of-age comedy with road-movie maneuvers. Evie drags young Ben on a trip. She forces him to drive her car, insisting that he escort her to a reading she's been asked to give in Edinburgh. This plot twist occasions a bit of real pathos and allows Walters to bring a welcome degree of self-awareness to her bombastic character.

In all, though, Driving Lessons fails to impress. That's surprising because Brock co-wrote the screenplay for The Last King of Scotland, a spirited and compelling drama. Perhaps in dealing with some autobiographical elements, Brock has exorcised a few personal demons and now can ply his trade on projects that seem more genuinely touching.

A final note: If Grint and Walters generate a bit of chemistry, it may be because she plays his mother in the Harry Potter movies.

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