Les Anderson (Corey Haim) is a 16-year-old living in Southern California who tries to get his driver's license and falls in love with Mercedes Lane Heather Graham.
After failing the knowledge portion of his driver's exam, Les takes the road test (and passes), following a computer surge that he inadvertently caused. The Department of Motor Vehicles originally let him pass the exam (as his failing score was thought to be irretrievable after the computer surge) because his twin sister had scored so highly; they decided that twins could not be too different. But when his test scores are finally retrieved, his new license is torn up and he is officially failed. Les lies to his parents and friends, convincing them that he has passed the test. Unfortunately, his parents find out the truth and as a result, Les is grounded for the next two weeks. That night, having already made plans to use his new license, he sneaks out of the house with his grandfather's prized 1972 Cadillac Sedan de Ville for a night on the town with Mercedes. After showing him how Los Angeles looks from far away on a hill, she tells him that her father used to bring her to the hill. While Mercedes is getting drunk, she and Les cause the hood of the car to slightly cave in by dancing on it. Mercedes then passes out.
Les panics and goes to his best friend Dean's house, where Dean (Corey Feldman) fixes the dent in the car's hood. Dean persuades Les to go out for a joyride, along with their friend Charles (Michael Manasseri), who are both still unaware that Les does not have a license. The three, along with a blacked-out Mercedes (who they put in the trunk of the car), end up getting into all kinds of trouble and hilarity ensues as they cause ever more damage to the Cadillac. Meanwhile, Les' extremely pregnant mother, late in the night, wakes up her husband, shouting that she is in labor.
The next day, Les does get in trouble with his father after returning home (after dropping Charles, Dean and Mercedes off) with the Cadillac, which is by now seriously damaged. Luckily, Les is able to drive his father, little brother Rudy, and his mother to the hospital â in reverse, because the Cadillac is so badly damaged it can no longer be put into drive. After they get there and Les' mother is taken into the hospital, a crane fails and a falling steel girder crushes the Cadillac, much to the shock of Les and his father. The family prepares to explain the state of the Cadillac to Les' grandfather, expecting the worst, but Les' grandfather laughs it off when he reveals that he has severely damaged Les' father's own car, a BMW, in an accident.
Les' father tells Les that the BMW is all his now and laughingly tells him to take good care of it. However, Les changes his mind about getting a BMW, saying he does not need it anymore. Mercedes soon pulls up in a white Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet, while Les says "I already have a Mercedes," he runs over and hops into the Cabriolet. Les drives off with Mercedes, without his license.
Where does Les Anderson live?
California