Les doesn't have a driving license yet, but to impress his gorgeous date Mercedes he borrows his grandpa's Cadillac for a night out... and has to witness the poor car going through more and more intense maltreatments.
Written by
Tom Zoerner
Plot Synopsis:
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Les Anderson (Corey Haim) is eagerly looking forward to getting his driver's license, freedom for a teenager who takes the bus to school, and a way to possibly pick up girls.

One whom Les has his eye on, is Mercedes Lane (Heather Graham). However, she seems to already have a boyfriend, who drives a Ferrari.

A few days later, Les is picked up by his friends Dean (Corey Feldman) and Charles (Michael Manasseri), and go to a party. While there, the trio see Mercedes getting into a heated argument with her boyfriend. Attempting to get out of the argument, she tells her boyfriend that she's going to go out with Les next Saturday.

The next day, Les is picked up from school by his Dad (Richard Masur), who is driving their Grandpa's Cadillac (as Grandpa has taken Dad's BMW, not wanting to drive his own Caddy over long distances). Les is at first embarrassed, but grows excited when his Dad explains that he thought he can drive the Cadillac for a little bit (with his Dad supervising of course!).

Reaching an upcoming corner, Les sees Mercedes wakling down the street, and begs his Dad to let him drive the car by himself, to impress her. Les' Dad gives in, but Les' plan to just drive Mercedes home takes another turn, when she tells how she's going across town to see a friend. Wanting to impress her, Les drives her there.

On his way back home, Les comes across his Dad who is very upset that Les broke his word.

The next day, Les and his twin sister Natalie (Nina Siemaszko) both take the driver's test via computer. Though Natalie finishes quickly, Les becomes flustered, and eventually fails. Angered, he 'boxes' the monitor, causing all the computers to shut down.

As DMV attempts to recover the data, they allow Les to take a driving test, feeling that since his twin sister scored highly, he should also be good once the data is recovered.

Natalie also takes a driving test, wherein the instructor is very calming. Les is given an instructor, who only has one stipulation: if Les can keep the cup of coffee he has from spilling, he passes.

Les manages to make it through, and gets his license...but seconds later, the instructor in the computer room tells that after recovering the results, Les has failed, and tears up his license in front of him!

Les comes home to an enthusiastic family, and lies to them, telling that he's 'a free man.' However, when his Mom (Carol Kane) does the laundry some time afterwards, she finds the 'Failed Test' paper in his pants pocket, and soon the entire family knows. Les' father even grounds Les for 2 weeks for lying to the family.

Les' friends even try to get him to come out due to getting his license, but he lies, claiming he has other things to do. Later on that evening, Les gets a call from Mercedes, asking if he's still going to take her out. Les lies, claiming he's on his way (after making sure his parents are sound asleep!).

Les manages to get his Grandpa's Cadillac out of the garage, and picks up Mercedes. They at first attempt to go to a club, but Les is refused entrance by the bouncer. Mercedes does get in, but upon seeing her boyfriend with another woman, quickly grabs a nearby bottle of champagne, and returns outside. However, Les' problems are increased when a tow-truck begins to tow away the Caddy. Les manages to get the car untowed, but ends up paying over all the money he has.

Mercedes then requests that they go to a lookout point high above the city. However, during her time there, she ends up finishing off the bottle of champagne. She ends up dancing on the hood of the car, and caving in the hood when she causes Les and her to fall on it! Getting her back in the car, she ends up knocked out from her drinking escapade.

Les then goes over to Dean's place, where Dean manages to take care of the dented hood, by banging it back into proper condition. Both Dean and Charles are eager to see Les' license, and claim that they should head to a place called Atomic Avenue. Les tries to convince them not to go there, but is coerced into it.

After a harrowing incident on the freeway, the group ends up at Shakey's where they attempt to sober up Mercedes, but at the insistence of Dean, put her in the car trunk, and decide to head off to Atomic Avenue, where Dean is sure they can meet some more girls.

They arrive, and the place seems exciting, but Charles accidentally ends up denting the door of a guy's Pontiac GTO. The man then attempts to smash the group's windshield with a crowbar, causing Les to quickly take off!

They end up almost being found out when going by a protest area (where Les' sister and her boyfriend are!), before getting pulled over at a Police checkpoint. Les gives over his school bus pass, but the situation almost takes a turn for the worse when the officer finds a sleeping Mercedes in the car trunk!

However, the police checkpoint is dismantled when word comes that the protest has become a riot! The boys then decide to head home, but are sidelined when a drunken driver gets into the Cadillac, and drives off! Luckily, they managed to get Mercedes out of the trunk before this, and all pile into the drunk's VW Bug.

Les' night gets worse as the driver veers all over the road, scratching up the car, and causing severe damage to it! Les manages to get into the car and stops it, right before it almost flies into a pit.

Les manages to get his friends home, and get Mercedes back to her place, who claims she had a nice time, and kisses him!

Les gets the car into the garage, just as his parents come downstairs, as his pregnant mother has just gone into labor! Les' Dad is about to give Les a huge lecture, when the cries of his wife cause him to stop. Needing someone to drive, Dad relents and allows Les back behind the wheel.

Arriving at a cross street, the family is thrown into turmoil when the forward drive on the car breaks, with the only option, to go in reverse. At the insistence of his family, Les throws the car in reverse, and manages to get his family to the hospital.

Les' Dad is impressed by his son's driving skills...but the moment is ruined when a giant I-beam from a nearby construction site, crashes onto the Cadillac.

Some time later, Grandpa comes back for his car. The family is ready for him to get angry, but are surprised when he starts laughing. Grandpa claims he had some problems driving Dad's car, and if on cue, a tow truck pulls up, with Dad's BMW smashed up!

Dad then attempts to push the broken car on Les, when Mercedes pulls up in her car.

Les responds to his Dad with, "I already have a Mercedes," hopping in her car, and driving off down the road with her.

Neither Corey Feldman nor Corey Haim had a driver's license when filming started.
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Corey Feldman originally auditioned for the role of Les Anderson.
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Ben Affleck tried out for the role of Les Anderson.
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Nine Cadillacs were purchased for use in this movie.
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In some VHS versions of the movie, the song "New Sensation" by INXS replaced "Trouble" by Nia Peeples from the theatrical version.
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In the opening scene, Natalie's friend sees Les sleeping and asks Natalie if he has mono. Natalie responds, "No, he's just brain dead." In an interview included on the DVD release, Corey Haim reveals that he got mononucleosis, a.k.a mono, during filming.
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Heather Graham's first substantial role in a theatrical feature.
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The sequence with the drunk driver and the ending with the grandfather were both added in reshoots.
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Corey Feldman chose all his own wardrobe.
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Richard Masur ad-libbed the "No handles" line.
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While Corey Feldman's character is fixing the dent on Corey Haim's character's grandfather's Cadillac hood, he makes the comment that his parents are like vampires. Both Haim and Feldman starred in the vampire movie The Lost Boys (1987).
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"Archie's Atomic Drive-In" was a former Johnie's Broiler at 7447 Firestone Blvd. in Downey, CA.
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Corey Haim did the parallel parking himself.
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Corey Haim was in the process of getting his license during filming.
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John Hughes was considered to direct this film. He would have cast Anthony Michael Hall as Les Anderson and Molly Ringwald as Mercedes Lane.
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When Les is taking his road test the song playing in the background is Jazzy's In The House, written and performed by DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeff A.Townes) & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith). James Avery who plays Les' DMV Examiner would later co-star with Will Smith and Jeff Townes in the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
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Director Greg Beeman wanted to use a song by The Beatles for the opening credits.
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Michael Manasseri was only 13 when filming started.
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Neil Tolkin's script started out as a failed article for 'National Lampoon' magazine.
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Second film featuring the two Corey's.
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Michael Manasseri's first movie.
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Helen Hanft was flown in from New York City to Los Angeles, California so she could play Miss Hellberg.
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After the drunk man drives off in the Cadillac, Les, Dean, and Charles get in the man's Volkswagen. Charles says they can't take the car, and Les says "Yeah? Well, he took our car. We're gonna take his!", but his lips aren't moving when he says it.
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When Charles is telling Les that the drunk has thrown up in the Caddilac, you can see that Dean is exclaiming the word "What?!" but you can't hear him say it.
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The drunk driver obviously has little liquior bottles on him as well as a knife he uses to cut lemons but during the traffic stop he is never frisked, searched, or arrested. Think the police would've noticed that.
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During the drive to the hospital the dad and mom get wet but Les and Rudy are dry. When the dad gets out of the car to help the mom he's dry but when him and Les watch the beem drop on the Cadillac he is soaking wet again.
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The amount of ketchup on the Mom's mashed potatoes changes between shots.
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The tow truck driver obviously has a deep southern accent when he tells Les to get off his truck,but in his next lines the accent disappears.
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The license plate on the caddy changes from "GRANDPA" to "GRANPA" in various scenes.
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The dent in the drivers door of the '69 GTO disappears in the full-side view of the car before it's crashed into the Chevy Impala.
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When Les is taking his driver exam and is asked to stop on the hill, in both shots after the initial stop and after he drops the emergency brake the ignition is in the off position.
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Natalie and her boyfriend were arrested during the protest. The police would have called her parents. Likewise, in the mad race to the hospital the next morning, no one asked where Natalie was.
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The drunk man vomits in the front floor of the car. Yet later, when Les tries hiding from his dad, he hides where the drunk would have vomited, and emerges from the car with no stains on his clothes.
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When the guys are pulling up to Archie's Atomic the vanity plate is missing completely and the cars front tag reads BDR 529. BDR 529 is the Illinois license plates registered to the 1974 Dodge Monaco in 1981's The Blues Brothers.
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Earlier in the evening, Les's sister takes their mom's Audi. Later on that same evening, after Les takes the Caddy and it rolls over the front lawn, you can see the Audi is still in the driveway.
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The license plate on the Cadillac changes several times (for instance, when they are parking at Archie's and when they are turning the corner just before getting to the DUI checkpoint) between the vanity plate 'GRANDPA' and the blue and yellow California license plates with a stock number.
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When Les is taking his road test in the Ford Escort, the grille keeps changing from white to black in different scenes.
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In the shot where the drunk crashes the Caddy into a parked car and knocks the rear bumper off, the cloth top is torn, and the rear windshield broken, before either have actually been damaged.
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In the beginning of the movie, we see Les talking to Dean on the bus getting ready to ask Mercedes out. When the bus drives away, it disappears between shots.
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When Les' father wants to drink a toast to him, he hands him a glass of bubbly champagne. In the next shot, the champagne is completely flat.
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When the drunk guy is asleep in the Cadillac as it's going down the highway, two of the four front lights are out on the car. Later, just before the car is about to go off the hill, all four lights are working again.
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In the scene where Les was rolling the Cadillac out, when he stopped the car and the car started to roll back the door was open, in the next shot the door was closed.
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In the scene where Les' mom arrives at the hospital to have her babies, her son Rudy gets out of the car, holding her hospital bag, he walks around the back of the car, and steps up onto the sidewalk. In the next scene, he gets out of the car again, and again steps on the sidewalk, the two scenes clearly show he has stepped onto the sidewalk twice.
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In the very first scene on the bus, Les sees the Ferrari parked and it has no front number plate, yet when he escapes the bus and starts to drive it has one.
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When Natalie leaves in her mother's Audi there is a Citroën 2CV parked in front of the Anderson's house, which appears and disappears over the course of the evening when Les is stealing the Cadillac and the next morning when the family is preparing to leave for the hospital.
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When Les is taking his driver's test, the DMV examiner shows him the cup of coffee. When the examiner sets it down on the dashboard, it is fuller than it was in the earlier frames.
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The dents on the driver's side of the Cadillac throughout the film.
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There is a crew member reflected in Les' back window at the drive-in restaurant.
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At the beginning of the movie when Les is dreaming, the school bus that chases him down the road is filled with Mannequins as you can see clearly.
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When the coffee cup flips on to the instructor's lap during Les's road test, the hole in the dash board containing the device (air spout or piston) that launched it is visible.
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When Les reaches into the glove compartment of his grandfather's car and makes the comment "Grandpa's top 10" when viewing the set of cassettes, he pulls out a Frank Sinatra tape, notable by its cover as the 1974 release of "Some Nice Things I've Missed." This is the tape that gets stuck in the player for the remainder of the movie. None of the songs played on the soundtrack from the cassette player (i.e. Strangers in the Night, That's Life, and Saturday Night (sung by a Sinatra impersonator Jerry Wright) are on this album.
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When Natalie is handed her driver's license, it says her date of birth is 3-29-72, and the warning says "Under 21 until 1992", which would actually be her 20th birthday. Also, Les' license, with the same date of birth, does not have the under 21 warning on it.
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Corey Haims hair seems to change throughout the movie. It goes from light brown to medium golden brown,light auburn to dark auburn. In different scenes his hair goes from gelled and styled to dry and fluffy. Towards the end of the movie when he is driving his mom to the hospital his hair his longer.
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When Mercedes is dancing on the hood of the Cadillac intoxicated,she does a spin and their is a brief shot of her underwear.
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When Natalie's date Carl picks her up,he calls her Natasha and not Natalie.
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When the drunk man falls asleep and Les is trying to get in the car, you can see the stuntman turning his head toward Les several times, obviously making sure he is keeping the car in the right place.
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During the "Joy Ride" scene, chapter 11 on the DVD version, when they are driving and go out of control, right before they go through the fence and zoom up on all their faces, Les's face is disfigured.
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After Les jumps through the back window of the bus, the bus does a 180 in the middle of the road and it's obvious the bus is empty.
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When Les is eating dinner with his family, Dean comes to pick him up and uses his car horn to get him to come out. Les' parents won't excuse him as Dean continues to honk. Finally the parents tire of the noise and yell to Les "GET OUT" The honking immediately stops. It shouldn't have. It should only have stopped when Les opened the front door or at least looked out the window.
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Even though Dean is shown towing Les on a two-wheel bike, the actors rode a three-wheel bike for balance. The two back wheels are visible when Les guards his face from some branches that he and Dean ride through.
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When Mercedes runs up to watch as the tow truck driver drops the Cadillac, the "El Rey" sign on the club behind her is backwards, revealing that the shot was flipped.
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In the scene when Les was rushing his mom to the hospital, as he tried to drive through the red light and the car wouldn't move, you could see the brake pedal was down.
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