Crash Course (1988) DVD

“Crash Course” centers on a group of high schoolers in a Driver’s Education class – many for the second or third time. The recently divorced teacher, super-passive Larry Pearl, is on thin ice with the football fanatic principal, Principal Paulson, who is being pressured by the district superintendent to raise Driver’s Ed. completion rates or lose his coveted football program. With this in mind, Principal Paulson and his assistant with a secret desire for his nob, Abner Frasier, hire an outside Driver’s Ed. instructor with a very tough reputation, Edna Savage – or E.W. Savage – who quickly takes control of the class.

The plot focuses mostly on the students and their interaction with their teachers and each other. In the beginning, Rico is the loner with just a few friends, Chadley is the bookish nerd with few friends who longs to be cool and also longs to be a part of Vanessa’s life – Vanessa being the young, friendly and attractive girl who had to fake her mother’s signature on her Driver’s Ed. permission slip. Kichi is the hip-hop Asian kid who often raps what he has to say and constantly flirts with Maria, the rich foreign girl who thinks that the right-of-way on the roadways always goes to (insert awesomely fake foreign Latino accent) “my father’s limo.” Finally you have stereotypical football meathead J.J., who needs to pass his English exam to keep his eligibility and constantly asks out and gets rejected by Alice, the tomboy whose father owns “Santini & Son” concrete company – Alice being the “son” her father wanted.

As the movie progresses, the students’ relationships with their teacher, each other and their driving abilities all begin to improve. Friendships are formed in and out of the classroom –All the while Abner, Acting Principal while Paulson is out of town, is spying on the entire bunch – teachers and students – and constantly calling the superintendent with the purpose of smearing the reputation of Principal Paulson in hopes of taking his job. In the meantime, Edna, who was initially cool and somewhat hostile to Larry, begins to see him in a new light. At the same time. Larry, who was initially a nervous and passive man (due mainly to stress involving his ex wife and their divorce proceedings) becomes more assertive and confident in himself, which Edna finds very attractive.

Just as things start to look up for the class in school and at home, an untimely accident involving Chad, Vanessa and the Driver’s Ed. car brings the entire class closer together. Literally, each character – save for Abner, whose attempts to take over as principal are thwarted by the progression of all the characters and the timely return of Principal Paulson – reaches a point in their life where they seem happy with themselves, their relationships with their friends and their relationships with their parents. Ultimately all the kids pass the course with flying colors and Larry and Edna end up falling in love and entering into a romantic relationship.

Not released officially or sold in stores