Laura refuses to allow Ben to have a mobile phone or hang around people his own age, and uses his driving lessons to be ferried around for her affair with Peter.
At his mother's urging, Ben seeks summer employment to pay for the upkeep of Mr. Fincham, a mental patient Laura has adopted.
Ben responds to an ad placed by Dame Evie Walton, an alcoholic, classically trained actress; reduced to a role on a daytime soap opera when her career began to fade, she has not worked since.
Ben discovers this, and in a fit of rebellion walks offstage during the pageant, riding his bike to Evie's house where the two friends reconcile.
Evie arrives at the Pageant and, "portraying" the part of God, whips the crowd into a religious frenzy, allowing Ben to join her in the car park.
In Driving Lessons: Behind the Scenes, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, screenwriter/director Jeremy Brock reveals he was still making changes to his script during the rehearsal period, some five years after he completed his first draft.
The soundtrack includes songs performed by Salsa Celtica, Sufjan Stevens, Nick Drake, Richard Thompson, Ben Folds, and Ginny Clee.
[5] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film "belongs to that hardy niche of British comedies designed as star vehicles for distinguished actresses (preferably Dames) of a certain age whose assignment is to win awards by devouring the scenery."
Driving Lessons belongs to the silly feel-good mode of The Full Monty, Calendar Girls, Billy Elliot, Kinky Boots and dozens of other celebrations of Britons defying convention to become 'free,' whatever that means.
"[6] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle observed, "With the aid of a charmingly offbeat story and a jolly good dialect coach, the stars leave you thinking, well done.
The collective effort invested in this ragged mongrel of a coming-of-age story may con even the most jaded moviegoer into thinking there's something profound being put forth.
"[8] Ronnie Scheib of Variety said, "The forceful [performances] of the two main divas manage to more or less blast away the moral bulwarks of this otherwise conventional coming-of-age story.
The fanatic gleam in Linney's eyes as she oh-so-sweetly lays down the law is matched only by the spectacle of her shuddering attempts to control her fury when thwarted.
"[9] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film three out of five stars and commented, "The movie looks like a lot of other things: Driving Miss Daisy, Harold and Maude, Billy Elliot, Acorn Antiques.
"[10] At the 28th Moscow International Film Festival, Julie Walters won the Silver St. George for Best Actress and Jeremy Brock was awarded the Special Jury Prize.