Hot Rod
Starring: Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13 for crude humor, language, some comic drug-related and violent content.
Plot: Amateur stuntman Rod Kimble has a problem–his step-father Frank is a jerk. Frank picks on Rod, tosses him around like a rag doll in their weekly sparring sessions, and definitely doesn’t respect him, much less his stunts. But when Frank falls ill, it’s up to Rod to stage the jump of his life in order to save his step-father. The plan: Jump 15 buses, raise the money for Frank’s heart operation, and then–kick his ass.

My Review: As much as I was excited about this movie and looking forward to it after enjoying Andy Samberg on SNL I’d be lying if I said Hot Rod was a good comedy. What was clearly an intentionally cheesy plot (see above) didn’t provide enough of a backbone to what should have been a great comedy. This is SNL clan work through and through with even Will Ferrell on the credits list as a producer, but sadly none of their talents were able to save this film. Instead of a consistently funny or entertainer movie you get what feels more like an hour and a half SNL episode with various sketches sown together to make a movie. Hot Rod turns out to be an extended Digital Short from Andy Samberg and crew.

If you’ve watched the trailers and commercials for Hot Rod then you’ve already seen everything single stunt, except for the very last one, in the movie. Seriously. There is little left to be discovered and enjoyed from the full viewing of this movie. What did provide me with a few good laughs were the random cut scenes within the movie. The absolute funniest part of the whole movie is near the beginning when an upset Rod declares he has to go to his quiet place to overcome the situation. I won’t ruin it for you, but if you’re too young for movies from the mid-eighties you’ll miss this one entirely. There are a few more chuckle moments from parts like Samberg drawing energy from the animal kingdom (the power of bottle nose dolphin!), but overall the running jokes don’t work. Just wait for the “cool beans” scene which cemented for me the idea that they had all these little bits but didn’t know how to make a movie around them.

How a cast like this comes up so dry and uninvolved is beyond me. Samberg is more of your usual smirky/quirky Samberg and while funny in his moments he still manages to grow tiresome by the end. I was looking forward to Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) joining this cast, but it seems like they added her to just be cute as she doesn’t add a single bit of humor. Arrested Development’s Will Arnett stars as the boyfriend of Samberg’s love interest and is a complete waste of his abilities. Chris Parnell arrives as a local AM station manager and pretty much plays the same part he always plays and manages to add little to his scenes. The newest face from this roster is Jorma Taccone who plays Kevin, Rod’s step-brother, and while he wasn’t any funnier than the rest of the cast I think he’s got some potential.

Overall, Hot Rod desperately tries to be the next Napoleon Dynamite with its quirky humor, awkward characters, and disjointed eras (is it the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s?) but doesn’t manage to pull it off. I’m not ready to give up on Andy Samberg yet, but as far as Hot Rod goes, pass on this until DVD, and even then have a few beers first.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
High Point: Rod visiting his quiet place
Low Point: Disjointed scenes, no flow

Hot Rod Movie Trailer:

Check out the rest of our Movie Reviews.

Feed Readers: click here to view the video