Hot Rod Review
by Gareth Von Kallenbach
|
Following up their successful sting on Saturday Night Live,
the video masterminds behind such hits as "Lazy Sunday, and "Dick in a
Box", the Lonely Island Boys have unleashed a wild comedy that skewers
some of the best comedy standards of the last two decades.
In Hot Rod,
Andy Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, self proclaimed stuntman who believes
he is the offspring of a stunt coordinator. Rod never misses a chance
to try a new death defying stunt with the help of his stunt crew. There
is just one problem, Rod is probably the worst stuntman ever to grace
the planet.
Armed with his trusty moped, Rod attempts to jump
swimming pools, vans, and even body boards all with failed and
side-splitting results.
Rod also is struggling to win the
respect of his stepfather Frank, (Ian McShane), and comes to believe he
can only do this by winning one of their numerous fight sessions. As is
expected, Rod is even worse at fighting as he is at stunts. This is
time leads to a real dilema for Rod, when Frank becomes ill and needs
an operation which the family is unable to afford.
Rod decides
that he must raise the money to save Frank, so he can kick his butt and
gain his respect. Towards this end, Rod rent himself out as a stuntman
for hire, and some very funny moments ensue as each outing is even more
inept than the one that preceded it.
As if Rod did not have
enough trouble in his life, he admires the newest member of his stunt
team Denise (Isla Fisher), but runs afoul of her jerky boyfriend
Jonathan (Will Arnett), which leads to even more mayhem as the film
unfolds in an enjoyable but predictable love triangle. While the plot
is not likely to set any new standards for originality, the film shines
when it is sending up the numerous films from the 80's such as Footloose, and Rad with their often over the top sendups.
While
there are stretches of the film that seem to be going nowhere, the film
cleverly will turn on a dime and go off in new tangents often with
hysterical results which is the strength of the film. Many times I
found myself watching the film thinking segments were really out there
or dumb, only to erupt in laughter when the scenes played out to their
conclusions.
The biggest weakness of the film is that like many other films that star Saturday Night Live cast members, some of the jokes hit and some miss, especially when sketch length bits are carried out over 90 minutes.
While
the film was designed to pay homage to past films, it works suprisingly
well as not only a pop culture satire, but as a physical comedy. With
fine supporting work by Sissy Spacek and Jorma Taccone, Hot Rod rises above its stupid comedy origins and creates a fresh, if silly offering that will leave you laughing. 3.5 out
of 5 Hot Rod
Australian
release: 11th October,
2007
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Isla Fisher, Bill Hader, Danny R. McBride, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek, Will Arnett, Chris Parnell
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Website: Click
here.
| 
