1997 - The Love Bug
Largely forgotten, the 1997 entry in the Herbie franchise was a TV-movie which premiered on The Wonderful World of Disney. Perhaps the first requel, The Love Bug follows the same structure of the original film with Herbie falling through the hands of a villain (John Hannah) and into the possession of a mechanic and failed race car driver who has seen better days. While confused by the odd things which happen in the car, Hank Cooper (Bruce Campbell) refuses to acknowledge its sentience, or Herbie's help in winning a race, leaving his wacky best bud (Kevin J. O'Connor) to be the one who first connects with the car. And, just for good measure, we get a romantic story thrown in as well.
The film hits many of the same beats of the original, albeit with far less racing sequences up until the climactic race. It also, bizarrely, works to tell the origin of Herbie by introducing the scientist (Harold Gould) who built him (and is conned into creating an evil version of him for our villain in a sort of Knight Rider K.I.T.T. vs. K.A.R.R. setup).
Further connecting it to the original, the fifth entry to the franchise also brings back Jim Douglas (Dean Jones) in a small but pivotal role to help Hank and his friends rebuild Herbie after he's demolished by his evil doppelganger.
In terms of tone, the film works in recreating those first few goofy moments with those unaware that Herbie is alive, even recreating the scene of attempting to push his new owner into the arms of a woman (Alexandra Wentworth) he obviously cares for. Campbell is put to good use here in the rough jerk with a heart, and there are a couple of nice moments with Jim and Herbie that might tug on nostalgic strings for fans of the original film. However, the origin story is a mess, and the evil car plot ends with more of a whimper than a bang. Like much of the franchise, it's an uneven film made for a less-discerning younger demographic that still finds ways to shine at times.
The only Herbie film not to get a theatrical release, you can certainly see where the film is limited in scope and budget such as sequences obviously being filmed on a studio backlot (although the final race between the dueling cars holds up fairly well nearly 30 years later). The Love Bug was released on VHS back in the day but has never been released on either DVD or Blu-ray. The film has also never made it onto Disney+ or other streaming services making a bit hard to track down (even for those who aware of its existence).
- Title: The Love Bug (1997)
- IMDb: link
