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Yep,
all it takes these days is one clever song going crazy (having Justin
Timberlake involved doesn't hurt either) on YouTube - and you can
pretty much fast track your way to the top. Heck, even Jimmy Fallon
took longer than this to get his own flick off the ground - such is the
power of the Samberg.
In his debut feature (written by and
starring his "Lonely Island" Internet sketch buddies) Samberg plays
self-proclaimed stunt man Rod Taylorm who is preparing for the jump of
his life. Rod plans to clear fifteen buses in an attempt to raise money
for his abusive stepfather Frank's life-saving heart operation. He'll
land the jump, get Frank better, and then beat the living crap out of
him.
There's not a great deal more to the premise here besides the fact that
Hot Rod
is quite simply the most comprehensively accurate ode to 1980s teen
sport cinema. The soundtrack is perfectly composed of rare 80s tracks -
heavy on the synth, heavy on the beats, heavy on the "Super Badass".
The strange thing with Hot
Rod is that while it's not quite in the league of the
poor spoof films like Date
Movie and Epic
Movie - it's certainly heading in that direction. Had the
film continued on it's absurdity-taken-seriously path (ala Anchorman) Hot Rod could well
have been the perfect comedy starting point for Samberg. But sadly, the
two styles don't quite mesh.
That
said, there are still some fantastic moments on offer here. None better
than an enormous musical number built around the iconic Australian 80s
hit You're The Voice
by Whispering Jack himself - John Farnham.
I'm
not sure it's simply because as an Australian that the scene hit a
nerve (I, like most Aussies, get an odd sense of overwhelming pride and
patriotism any time another Aussie appears, or is even mentioned, in
the USA) or the fact that it's a fantastic satire of cheesy slow motion
'Hero' scenes - whatever the reason, this is by far the stand out of
the entire flick. Extra points to for the dialogue immediately
following (in which Rod's friend is talking of how "We had no time to
do anything, just run and not look back" while holding a stolen TV set)
also.
To add to the Aussie theme, former Home
& Away
star Isla Fisher (now the wife of Borat!!) delivers as Rod's
ever-so-cute love interest. She's really come along way since Summer
Bay, and delivers quite a likable performance opposite Samberg's odd
mixture of Adam Sandler & Jimmy Fallon.
By no means a shocker (like so many SNL films before it
were: Night At The
Roxbury, Superstar)
with some extremely funny moments, and some even funnier lines (which
will be quoted in years to come once this become the DVD hit that it
was born to be), but probably not the hit that Samberg needs just yet.
If this is his Billy
Madison, then I'm excited to see what the future holds.
Worth purchase price alone for the JF song!
EXTRAS
Several
feature Audio Commentaries by the Lonely Island boys (Akiva Schaffer,
Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone) who seem just as excited that they are
doing an Audio Commentary as they are that they actually have their own
movie.
Theres also heaps of extra featurettes, all of which
warrant quite a few chuckles - Samberg & Co have obviously gone
to
the effort to make the DVD they
would enjoy. And it's a welcome change.
Fun stuff.
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: 70%
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