TIFF 2025: Driver’s Ed Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

The classic teen coming-of-age comedies of the 90s were a different animal. Playing a large part in the childhoods of countless modern audiences, films that have attempted to replicate those vibes, for the most part, just can’t get there. Of course, many films over the many decades since have snuck through, but those same audiences wanting a nostalgia fix by going back to that time have mostly been left empty handed. Premiering at this year’s festival, Driver’s Ed arguably fits that bill. While it may not bring much new to the table, it takes those classic 90’s teen comedy vibes and transports them to the modern day. Though the humor doesn’t always hit, a great young cast along with those classic vibes make for a fun watch that perhaps runs a touch too long. A road trip film through and through, this four-parter is a throwback that serves as a greatest hits of the subgenre that will undoubtedly resonate with a large portion of audiences. Above all else, if audiences are to spend so much time with its characters, it has to knock it out of the park with casting and to its credit, it does. Sam Nivola is one of the finest young actors working today and he gets to show that here, grouped with a cast of newcomers and several comedic heavy hitters. Sure, its predictable, but that’s not the point, it is the execution that matters and the cast goes a long way in making that happen.

Driver’s Ed follows Jeremy (Nivola), a high school senior whose long distance relationship with his now his college freshman girlfriend Samantha (Lilah Pate) has become strained as their separation has worn on him. After a drunken call from Samantha left him in doubt about where their relationship stood, he decided to take matters into his own hands by stealing his school’s driver’s ed car and hitting the road to confront his girlfriend. Luckily for Jeremy, he wouldn’t have to make that journey alone as he would be joined by his fellow driver’s ed colleagues, stoner Yoshi (Laprete); prudish valedictorian Aparna (Krishan); and loner Evie (Telegadis). Embarking on a road trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, their journey was ultimately a means to once again play their contrasting personalities off of each other for laughs. Armed with very little driving or life experience, hijinks ensued as their trip would not be without detours, all the while their principal (Molly Shannon) and inept driver’s ed instructor (Kumail Nanjiani) pursued them. Primed with all the usual coming-of-age lessons, the film has a charm to it that makes that familiar territory more palatable. In the end, Jeremy, Yoshi, Aparna, and Evie’s journey may be a predictable one, aside from the same lessons, but it is a blast. Mostly taking place in the driver’s ed car, perhaps those scenes become repetitive, however, the film moves at a fast enough pace that it is barely noticeable.

The best part of the film, and what holds it together, is its cast. The chemistry between Nivola, Laprete, Krishan, and Telegadis, as Jeremy, Yoshi, Aparna, and Evie, makes for a winning dynamic that, while the characters themselves aren’t particularly deep, compliment one another. Though the story is Jeremy’s, Nivola proves that he is up to the task, grounding the film with charm beyond his years. Laprete, meanwhile, is a scene stealer as Yoshi.

Overall, Driver’s Ed is a winning teen comedy and a fun throwback that doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is full of vibes and is lifted by a great young cast.

still courtesy of Prime Video

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.