Greetings again from the darkness. The Farrelly Brothers (Bobby and Peter) were the creative force behind such comedy classics as DUMB AND DUMBER (1994), THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998), and one of my personal favorites, OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE (1999). At some point, the brothers decided to split up and work on their own projects. Peter won a couple of Oscars for GREEN BOOK (2018), and now Bobby, working from a screenplay by Thomas Moffett (AN ACTOR PREPARES, 2018), delivers one more in line with the brothers’ early works.
Sam Nivola (“The White Lotus”, and son of actors Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer) stars as Jeremy, a high school senior – lovesick and concerned since his girlfriend Samantha (Lilah Pate, MONSTER SUMMER, 2024) headed off to college a year ahead of him. In a setup that would have been unimaginable back in my day, Jeremy and three other seniors are taking part in a Driver’s Ed class. Aparna (Mohana Krishnan, “I Am Frankie”) is the class valedictorian, Yoshi (Aidan Laprete, SWIPED, 2025) is the school’s drug dealer, and Evie (newcomer Sophie Telegadis) seems to have a growing attraction to Jeremy.
Their substitute driving instructor is Mr. Rivers (Kumail Nanjani, THE BIG SICK, 2017), who is battling not one, but two broken arms … neither of which slow down his one-liners or his lackadaisical approach to the assignment. A certain spontaneous decision finds the drivers-in-training on a road trip for romance, sans instructor, to reunite Jeremy and Samantha. This also sends Principal Fisher (Molly Shannon) into a frenzy and campus security guard, Officer Walsh (Tim Baltz, “The Righteous Gemstones”) on their trail.
This teenage road trip has some comical moments, and getting to know each of the participants is the film’s strength. The actors each have an opportunity to shine, and as we would expect with students this age, there are moments that find us rolling our eyes and others that leave us impressed with the emotional depth shown. This is a film that features such highlights as reading a sext out loud in class, introducing us to teen phone separation anxiety, educating us that far too many students are prescribed anti-depressants and mood drugs, and what a frat party looks like these days (not much has changed evidently). There is also a three-legged cat, a Vintage Furs van, a hillbilly bandit, and a hot Good Samaritan (Marley Aliah) who appeals to a couple of the renegade students.
While most of the time is spent on a misguided romantic road trip to save a relationship, it evolves into a journey of self-discovery, as most things do at that age. It’s quite fun to watch this group of fairly young actors do their thing and outperform the adults, and the best line in the film is an odd one: “Most 8th graders don’t generally read obituaries”.
In theaters and On Demand beginning May 15, 2026
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
Excellent reviews as always. I have never heard of the movie “Driver’s Ed” before but your review has given me a strong reason to check it out. I am a huge fan of Kumail Nanjiani and have always regarded him a fantastic actor. He is a spectacular comedian that has made some unforgettable movies in his career. For instance, I loved his performance in “The Big Sick”. Released in 2017, Michael Showalter’s romantic comedy offered a powerful portrait of standup comedians. “Driver’s Ed” seems to be another great showcase for his talents. So, for these reasons, I will definitely check out this movie once it hits streaming.
Here’s my thoughts on “The Big Sick”:
You are right about THE BIG SICK being a top notch romantic-comedy.