'Herbie: Fully Loaded' races to a first-place finish

If you're already sick and tired of being reminded how, well, fully loaded Lindsay Lohan is, Herbie: Fully Loaded may not sound like a promising vehicle (ho, ho). Given LL's (say, shouldn't she be a Superman love interest?) annoying and ubiquitous media presence, the killer Plymouth, Christine, would seem a better choice as a costar than Herbie, the pure-of-heart Volkswagen Bug who first drove on screen in 1968.

But against all expectations and laws of loathsome overexposure, Herbie is a lot of fun. And so is its star.

Walt Disney Pictures 'Herbie: Fully Loaded' B The verdict: Loaded with fun. Director: Angela Robinson Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Breckin Meyer Run time: 101 minutes Release date: June 22, 2005 Rating: G See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate "Herbie: Fully Loaded"   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Lohan plays Maggie Peyton, of the Peyton NASCAR dynasty, which includes her father, Ray (Michael Keaton), and her brother, Ray Jr. (Breckin Meyer), who now does the racing. Having just graduated from college, she's off to New York for a job as an assistant producer at ESPN.

Before she leaves, her dad offers to buy her a junkyard car as a graduation gift, to drive around for the summer. After a narrow escape from the car compactor, Herbie manages to get Maggie to choose him.

When handsome young mechanic Kevin (Justin Long, sort of a smudged Keanu Reeves) says Herbie's speedometer goes over 200 mph, Maggie wryly notes, "Someone had a sense of humor."

But she soon discovers the prince charming under Herbie's froggy hood. And when she beats hotshot NASCAR champ Trip Murphy (Matt Dillon) in an impromptu road race, she starts dreaming Danica Patrick dreams.

There are two obstacles. One is her father, who doesn't want his only daughter risking her neck on the race track, even though she can drive rings around his son.

The second is the nefarious Trip, who isn't above a little vehicular homicide (he arranges for Herbie to be smushed in a demolition derby) to get rid of the competition.

Herbie: Fully Loaded is basically a variation on every girl-and-her-horse movie you've ever seen, except Herbie honks his horn and blinks his headlights instead of snorting through his nostrils and whisking his tail.

Naturally, they end up at The Big Race. Though there is a little gender-bending chicanery early on to fool Ray, Maggie doesn't have to disguise herself as a boy to compete with NASCAR stars like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (both make guest appearances), as did Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet.

One caution flag: Tarting up Herbie's magical abilities with some CGI wizardry isn't always the best idea. Doing so takes way from Herbie's inherent Little Tramp appeal. But the effects aren't so intrusive as to be offensive.

And, OK, so the script is formula one (concocted by a racing pit's worth of writers), but it's also involving in a family-film way. Another plus is the strong supporting cast.

Keaton still has that on-the-balls-of-his-feet energy and sly eyebrows that made him a superstar in the '80s.

Ditto Dillon, who has a fine time with the vainglorious Trip, turning on the charm for the cameras, but utterly ruthless otherwise.

However, Lohan is the movie's linchpin and therein lies a conundrum. She's as likable on-screen as she is obnoxious off.

She makes Maggie gutsy, smart, passionate and sometimes heedlessly ambitious (which is how Herbie lands up being chased by a scary monster truck — parental warning here — at the demolition derby).

Herbie: Fully Loaded has a little bit of everything. Lohan for the girls. NASCAR for the boys. And Herbie for everyone.