Teen comedies are a genre all their own. Depending on when a movie is released and who makes it, it can speak to a particular generation in a way that others simply won’t understand. The references, plotlines, and characters are all vital aspects of this kind of project. If everything comes together perfectly, it can be a hit. In the case of Driver’s Ed, it does… with some irritating speed bumps.

Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Bobby Farrelly-directed movie stars White Lotus breakout Sam Nivola as Jeremy, a lovestruck teen eager – almost desperately so – to keep his relationship afloat. His girlfriend Samantha (Lilah Pate) has gone away to college while he’s still stuck in high school, and it’s barely been a month, but he can feel the distance growing.

As far as basic set-ups go, it’s pretty standard for a teen movie. What’s needed is a wild hook, and Farrelly and writer Thomas Moffett deliver. Scared that he’s about to be broken-up with, Jeremy steals his driver’s ed car – with three of his classmates inside – and sets out for Samantha’s school in the hopes of reaffirming their commitment to each other.

When it comes to the comedy, Driver’s Ed’s central premise and characters supply plenty of genuine laughs. However, when it comes to the development of said characters and its plot, it falters, never going quite as deep as it should to make it all make sense.

Driver’s Ed Nails The Laughs, But Struggles With Logic

From the moment Jeremy impulsively steals the car and drives off with his classmates, stranding his hapless instructor (Kumail Nanjiani), Driver’s Ed gets a jolt of energy. It’s only heightened by his cluelessness behind the wheel; his hysterical reaction to getting stuck in a roundabout is one of many funny moments poking fun at the teens’ lack of driving experience.

While Nanjiani’s subsтιтute teacher and the school’s principal (Molly Shannon) work to find the kids, Jeremy commits to his journey, and his classmates-turned-semi-hostages are willing to go along with it too. This was the first instance where Driver’s Ed pushed the boundaries of credulity just a bit, even by YA standards. From what we can gather, these teens aren’t close friends, and they think Jeremy’s setting himself up for heartbreak.

But after one (somewhat lame) defense from Jeremy, they’re all willing to go along with his harebrained scheme, damn the consequences. Considering how one of them is straitlaced class valedictorian Aparna (Mohana Krishnan), this comes across as a bit strange.

The other two members of this ragtag group are adrift rich kid Evie (Sophia Telegadis) and stoner Yoshi (Aidan Laprete). The four disparate personalities create some interesting friction and bonding moments, even though few of them really go beyond the initial archetype they’re set up with. Yoshi is easily the standout; Laprete’s oblivious line deliveries earned some of the biggest laughs at my screening, and his character has some unexpected heartbreak hiding beneath the surface.

Of course, this is largely Jeremy’s story, and Nivola does a good job of portraying his lovelorn naivety. We can guess his arc from the very beginning of the movie, when multiple characters remind him that there’s more to life than his high school girlfriend. It’s a rewarding arc, but one that’s muddied by another romance plot that I didn’t buy into as much as the film probably hoped I would.

Throw in some truly absurd decisions, and you have a funny comedy that is also mildly frustrating. Though Shannon and Nanjiani are welcome onscreen presences, they end up being pretty inconsequential to the plot, raising the question of why they were included at all.

Even with these gripes, though, Farrelly does a good job staging new, amusing obstacles to get in the teens’ way, which vary from a stray cat to an armed robbery. At roughly an hour and 40 minutes, the film flies by with a breezy energy, which is arguably both a positive and a negative here.

Driver’s Ed hardly reinvents the wheel when it comes to the YA world, and it’s far from perfect. Still, with its string of solid laughs and a very game cast, it makes for an entertaining adventure that goes down easy.