The funny Spanish mini-series that shows there is no age limit for learning to drive

At the end of the 1990s, at Pablo Lopetegui (Juan Diego Botto) predicted a prosperous future for him as a writer. His first novel was very promising and the publishing house that had published it was convinced that it would become a Bestseller. The young prodigy already imagined such a rich, famous and chauffeured life. However, things didn’t go as planned and at the age of 45 they find him estranged, teaching Spanish literature at university (a job he doesn’t seem to like very much) and with an old car. that he doesn’t know how to drive. Now without his companion who took him everywhere, he decided to enroll in a driving school. It’s the kick off I don’t like to driveHBO’s funny and likable six-episode story that cries out for a second season.

Lopetegui is an egocentric, pedantic and antisocial teacher. He has been teaching at the same university for 15 years, but he has no connection with anyone. The death of his father and the legacy of the car he loved so much force the main character to leave his comfort zone. This means, once and for all, learning to drive, which he always considered a stupid task, but which he, a doctor of medieval literature, never succeeded in.

His goal makes him meet Lorenzo (a great David Lorente), the charlatan, sympathetic and endearing teacher of the “Camino” driving school. His character is responsible for contributing most of the humor quota in all six episodes. Lorenzo is a professional who goes out of his way for his students. He suffers if they fail the driving test and only stops when they “pull out the license” (an expression widely used in Spain and in the series). His personality contrasts with that of Lopetegui, who cares little for his students at the university.

Lopetegui treats Lorenzo with a certain contempt and an air of superiority, because the latter spends his time speaking with fixed proverbs and phrases, something considered unacceptable by a doctor of literature and an ardent defender of the Spanish language. In addition, Lorenzo considers himself an educator and puts himself on the same level as Lopetegui, which the university professor obviously does not like at all, who cannot accept that he is a driving school student and that there is someone who knows more than him.

Logically, those who attend the driving school the most are young people, impatient to turn 18 to obtain a driving licence. For this reason, Lopetegui has to face ridicule for his age and, on several occasions, the question he hates so much: “what do you want the card for?” The reasons will be known as the series progresses.

At the driving school, Lopetegui has Yolanda (Lucía Caraballo) as a classmate, who paradoxically is one of his university students. The character of the 20-year-old girl brings the touch of freshness to the series and helps the protagonist to soften and leave this role of antisocial “grinch”. The same goes for Iria (Leonor Watling), her ex-partner and “driver”. She is the one who knows him best and the one who helps him the most to mourn his father.

The mini-series created by Borja Cobeaga (co-screenwriter of “Ocho apellidos vascos” and “Ocho apellidos catalanes”) makes the character of Lopetegui, even with all his negative traits, adorable and makes you want to hug him. Perhaps it is because of the tenderness generated by a man who, after 40 years, intends to learn to drive. Or perhaps because of the empathy produced by someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one. Lopetegui is cold, but he usually goes to the garage where he keeps the car his father left him to remember him sitting in the back seat. This act exposes his more human and less ogre side.

In addition to being a comedy with a lot of humor, it’s also a somewhat dark series that talks about second chances and the possibility of slipping through time. Beyond the predictability with which it’s resolved, the story never falters and leaves the viewer wanting to know how it progresses. Borja Cobeaga triumphs with a simple, pleasant and friendly production. As Lorenzo would say, “easy and for the whole family”.

I don’t like to drive is available on HBO Max.

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