annefederer's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
This was written so intentionally, I could highlight every line. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Incest, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
4.0
Recommended to me by my scriptwriting professor, "How I Learned to Drive" chronicles a family history of the misuse of sex. Protagonist Li'l Bit has a close bond with her uncle Peck, who teaches her how to drive, photographs her, lusts after her, and molests her. However, in the dynamics of her family--her single mom, who instills in her life lessons about dating and sex, and her grandparents--the misuse of sex goes as far back to Li'l Bit's birth, when she was dubbed her nickname on account of her genitals. Her coarse, vulgar grandfather, the unwanted attention at school toward her developed breasts, the uncle who offers her refuge while photographing her possibly for Playboy and savoring the gift of her body she offers to him--all inform and impact Li'l Bit's self-awareness and understanding as her relationship with her uncle reaches its climax.
_leejohnston's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cantordustbunnies's review against another edition
3.0
This poisonous play utilizes the stage in interesting ways (which sometimes borders on the gimmicky) and would be cool to watch. It has a very creepy and spiteful tone, thrusting American nostalgia in people's faces and saying "see how awful and fake it all really was?" A girl's traumatic formative experiences are utilized as a "vehicle" to critique society along feminist lines. If the play explored the damaging effects of grooming, incest, and statutory rape it would have been very good but because it doesn't stop there and instead inserts a message it lost me since I don't agree with the message. The message being that the patriarchy is a very real, omnipresent and damaging force, that all men are bad, that all women are good and even if they act bad it is because they have been warped learning to survive under the patriarchy. It is about how women act as unwitting co-conspirators of the patriarchy by passing along their beliefs to their daughters and about how all men are taught not to cry and that this exacerbates their bad natures and leads them to be neurotic. It is about how girls are raised to be one way and boys another, etc., everyone who is familiar with feminist rhetoric will know the points raised by the play. The portrayal of discomfort a young girl feels towards going through puberty after being molested is very real and harrowing but is infinitely cheapened when there's an implication that our society makes puberty traumatic for all girls. In fact I found everything in this play to be on the vulgar side. Some of the vulgarity in this play was impactful and disturbing as it pertained to the interactions of a predator and a victim. Most of this play's vulgarity however was present in its obviousness. The obvious metaphor of learning how to handle a car and growing up. The not-so-subtle feminist critiques of society. The blatant juxtaposition of nostalgic themes with sinister content. Everything was just very clear cut and at all times it was very obvious what the playwright wanted to get across. This isn't necessarily a bad thing in all plays but I think in this one with this kind of subject matter a delicate touch is needed. Using rape and trauma, especially of a child, to voice your concerns about gender politics isn't exactly a great way to get your point across. Much more effective would have been to tell a straightforward story that speaks for itself and let the audience come to feminist conclusions on their own if they will. There were some pretty genuinely gross and chilling moments and some heartbreaking ones but when you can tell it's all really just a soapbox these moments quickly turn tawdry. It is the sheer horror of a psychologically immature pedophile that is so viscerally expressed in this play which makes it worthwhile. The embarrassment, confusion, and terror of having an uncle send a teenager obsessive love notes was rendered in such an effective manner that despite all of my complaints I still liked this play. It is no Lolita but still serves as a powerful testament towards the inherent harm of grooming.
lefaulkenberry's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favorite plays of all time. It's a perfect combination of humor and pathos. Using a driver's manual as a way to navigate life, Vogel creates a witty, smart extended metaphor that embodies Gardner's "vivid and unending dream" that we strive to find in good fiction. Read this for the unforgettable characters, the masterful dialogue, and the magic. One of the best.
illinoise's review against another edition
5.0
i can't get the phrase "the gifts we get from the people that hurt us" out of my mind. beautifully done.
hazeldye's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bazils's review against another edition
4.0
i would give this play 4.5
paula ur insane. loved the character descriptions and the pacing was just really interesting. cool usage of the greek chorus as we know it! How I Learned to Drive has a greek chorus, but the real breaker of that fourth wall is Lil’Bit, who is our main character. in an interesting way, this Greek chorus is not used in the exact way we are expecting it to be used.
read it in a day, along with four other plays that played with that greek chorus structure.
paula ur insane. loved the character descriptions and the pacing was just really interesting. cool usage of the greek chorus as we know it! How I Learned to Drive has a greek chorus, but the real breaker of that fourth wall is Lil’Bit, who is our main character. in an interesting way, this Greek chorus is not used in the exact way we are expecting it to be used.
read it in a day, along with four other plays that played with that greek chorus structure.