'Drive' Crashes and Burns by Movie Reviewers on Creators.com

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'Drive' Crashes and Burns

2011 will go down in the Hollywood history books as the year of Ryan Gosling. The man with the Photoshop-perfect abs and cool sheen — but who also has proved himself to be a fine thespian and occasional musician — has utterly dominated the big screen as of late. His swarthy turn in "Crazy, Stupid, Love" demonstrated his sexy mainstream appeal, and this fall's "The Ides of March" could make him an Oscar candidate.

But the high-octane, lowbrow crash landing of "Drive" is evidence that even actors at the top of their game can hit a bump in the road.

Gosling stars (but doesn't shine) as "Driver," a movie stunt guy gone emotionally flaccid. All the choreographed explosions in the world can't reignite his soul, even with the encouragement of his well-meaning confidant and handler, Shannon (Bryan Cranston, the only realistic tether to this air-headed farce).

So the blond mope goes all meta and becomes a chauffer for crooks and thieves. He parks the getaway car for five minutes outside the scene of the crime. During that window, he belongs to the thugs. Any second over the short increment and he's outta there.

His extracurricular activities make for a lonely life, until he meets his mousy neighbor, Irene (Carey Mulligan, gamine but mostly a drag). She's the unlikely wife of formerly incarcerated criminal Standard (Oscar Isaac), who rightfully suspects Driver of treading on his territory. But when gangsters threaten to hurt his family, Standard seeks the stuntman's help.

Paying a visit to Los Angeles' less desirable enclaves, Driver hooks up with a saucy chick named Blanche (Christina Hendricks) and her imposing boss, Cook (James Biberi).

To set Standard right with these nasty folks, Driver has to escort them on a pawnshop bust.

"Drive" had the potential to veer away from machismo from this point, but instead, it topples over a ravine and into a bog of ultra-violence. The car chases are pulse-pounding, but they're nothing that the "Fast and Furious" machine didn't already attempt. And when Gosling's disinterested antagonist gets sucked into a chaotic Mafia plot, things get as bloody and cartoonish as a Tarantino flick — without letting the audience in on the joke.

Bit player Ron Perlman eats this sludge up like candy. As the questionable pizzeria owner Nino, his rubbery countenance dances in anticipation of the ghastlier moments. Scarface he ain't, even though he hams it up to Tony Montana proportions.

Similarly, Albert Brooks relishes in blowing his stack as man-about-town Bernie Rose. His involvement in Driver's career — and ultimately his life — is the sneaky catalyst to the crumbling of this film's prestige.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn (the "Pusher" trilogy) does fashion a winding road out of "Drive" — one that unfolds with such jerkiness that it induces emotional seasickness. The action careens around one corner of crime noir and then revs and hops the curb over into maniacal, drooling mayhem. It must be a pretty slow year for the Academy if the murmuring about Gosling's getting an acting nod for this is true.

"Drive" is all flash and growl, but when one actually sits down to ingest the meaning, it turns out it really was a lemon.

"Drive." Rated R. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes. 1.5 stars.

To find out more about Melissa Bobbitt and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.