'DRIVE' NOT SHAKESPEAREAN, BUT IT GETS MOTORS RUNNING.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic Think of the "Cannonball Run" movies without the jokes and you've basically got the idea of "Drive." Of course, given the jokes that "Cannonball Run" trucked in, that's not necessarily a bad thing. "Drive" concerns a cross section of Americans lured by various means into participating in a "secret, exclusive and illegal" cross-country road race. Those who created and control the race remain in the shadows, represented by the sinisterly chipper chipper Drug slang An occasional user of illicit drugs. See Recreational drug use Tobacco A popular term for a person who smokes < 5 cigarettes/day, who may be resistant to nicotine dependence or addiction, and often born to non-smoking parents. Mr. Bright (Charles Martin For other persons named Charles Martin, see Charles Martin (disambiguation). Charles Martin, a noted poet, critic and translator, was born in New York City in 1942 and grew up in the Bronx. He graduated from Fordham University and received his Ph.D. Smith channeling Wallace Shawn), whose demeanor belies the competition's more menacing undertones. Apparently, the race -- which has gone on for some three decades -- features one contestant traversing the country at breakneck break·neck adj. 1. Dangerously fast: a breakneck pace. 2. Likely to cause an accident: a breakneck curve. speeds to save a kidnapped beloved one. Here, that dubious honor goes Alex Tully (Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian actor, best known for his lead role in the television series Firefly. Biography Early life Fillion was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada to Cookie and Bob Fillion, both of whom are retired English ), whose wife is kidnapped on their anniversary. He forms an uneasy alliance with Corinna (Kristin Lehman Kristin Lehman (born on May 3 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian actress. She trained in classical ballet at the Royal Academy of Dance. Lehman's most recent starring role was in Fox's 2007 action drama television series Drive. ), who, as the abductee years ago, witnessed the death of her parents. Others in the race: a new mom (Melanie Lynskey) hoping to escape her abusive husband; a jittery, secretly dying man (Dylan Baker) hoping to at last impress his vacuous daughter (Emma Stone) with some 11th-hour machismo machismo Exaggerated pride in masculinity, perceived as power, often coupled with a minimal sense of responsibility and disregard of consequences. In machismo there is supreme valuation of characteristics culturally associated with the masculine and a denigration of ; an ex-con (Kevin Alejandro) and his half-brother (J.D. Pardo), who share nothing in common but utter contempt for their father; an AWOL soldier (Riley Smith) and his girlfriend (Mircea Monroe); and a trio of Hurricane Katrina survivors (Taryn Manning, Rochelle Aytes and Michael Hyatt). It's set up a little like the reality show "The Amazing Race," with the teams having to solve clues and surmount sur·mount tr.v. sur·mount·ed, sur·mount·ing, sur·mounts 1. To overcome (an obstacle, for example); conquer. 2. To ascend to the top of; climb. 3. a. To place something above; top. challenges to get to the next checkpoint. Unlike "Amazing Race," however, challenges involve murdering the other contestants. (Though if Rob and Amber Rob and Amber refers to:
n. 1. An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use. 2. A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience. involving Corinna, there doesn't appear to even be a second place. Not that the contestants know that yet. So there's a lot of reckless driving reckless driving n. operation of an automobile in a dangerous manner under the circumstances, including speeding (or going too fast for the conditions, even though within the posted speed limit), driving after drinking (but not drunk), having too many passengers in , naturally, and even more reckless lapses in logic. One minor example: The cell phones assigned each contestant don't come with chargers; they must be even more powerful than Jack Bauer's. Still, the show hurtles along, hoping you won't have time to consider the odd plot convolutions. "Drive," created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen, is dumb but still kind of cool, though you wish the writers spent as much time polishing the dialogue as they did cooking up stunts: When a character responds to her own line with, "God, that was so lame," that's the writers admitting, "We couldn't bother to think up anything clever." David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com DRIVE - Two and one half stars What: Sundry characters are drawn into a mysterious cross-country road race. Where: Fox (Channel 11). When: 8 tonight; thereafter, 8 p.m. Mondays. In a nutshell: Dumb but sorta cool. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Nathan Fillion, center, and Charles Martin Smith (in the rear-view mirror) are part of the ensemble cast racing across the country in "Drive," debuting tonight on Fox. |
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