|
|
|
Hot Rod
Movie Stats & Links |
| Starring: |
Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Sissy
Spacek, Will Arnett |
| MPAA Rated: |
PG-13 |
| Released By: |
Paramount Pictures |
| Web Site: |
www.hotrodmovie.com |
| Kiddie Movie: |
Not too young, but
most will laugh as Rod crashes into things. |
| Date Movie: |
Only is she is
easily amused. |
| Gratuitous Sex: |
Some talk, and I
couldn't help buy keep looking at Denise's boobs. |
| Gratuitous
Violence: |
Rod and Frank keep
fighting. |
| Action: |
Nah. |
| Laughs: |
I did, and I can't
say I'm proud of it. |
| Memorable
Scene: |
The "Footloose"
scene. |
| Memorable
Quote: |
Nothing really
stood out. |
| Directed By: |
Akiva Schaffer |
| Produced By: |
John Goldwyn, Lorne Michaels |
|
|
Hot Rod
A Movie Review |
|
 |
There was a scene during "Hot Rod" where I knew I was
old, and yet knew that I haven’t grown up. I say that
because, of the ten people in the theater at the time, and
two of them parents bringing their kids, I was the only one
laughing. I knew I was old because it was a scene mimicking
the movie "Footloose" so I absolutely understood the joke,
whereas the kids in the audience didn’t find it funny, and I
knew I haven’t grown up because the parents, who probably
saw "Footloose" and could at least get the joke, weren’t
laughing. Let’s get to the story…
Andy Samberg is Rod. He thinks and dreams of being a
great stuntman, mostly putting his moped through experiences
a moped should never go through. He has his friends and half
brother helping him, and is love with the neighbor girl,
Denise (Isla Fisher), and who wouldn’t be? In any case, with
his biological dad dead at an early age, Rod has been
spending his life trying to prove to his step-dad, Frank
(Ian McShane), that he is a man, mostly by having fights
with Frank in the basement where Frank pretty much just
kicks the crap out of Rod. Frank, though, has a bad ticker,
and Rod can’t stand to see him die before he can kick the
crap out of Frank. The heart transplant will cost $50,000
and Rod decides he will raise the money by jumping a bunch
of buses.
So Rod trains for the big jump, tries to raise enough
money to actually put on the jump, things don’t go as
planned, but thank goodness for an AM radio station coming
in to sponsor the jump.
Does Rod make the jump? Does Rod make enough money for
the heart transplant? Does Rod get the girl? Does Rod
finally kick the crap out of Frank? Does the movie tell you
why men sometimes pee in two directions at once? All of
these questions and more are answered by the time the
credits roll.
The movie is as stupid as the trailer shows it to be, but
I have to admit that there were some funny moments, if you
are old enough to understand them, and more importantly,
haven’t grown up either. The thing is, though, that I think
the movie could have actually worked its way into cult
classic status if they tightened things up just a bit, and
I’m sad to say, didn’t have Andy Samberg as Rod. For
whatever reason Samberg just didn’t seem to be the person
for the role, almost like he was trying to be Will Ferrell a
lot of times, and it just didn’t work for me. Oh well.
I suppose, in the end, there were a couple of really
funny moments for me, two of them being the "Footloose"
scene and the scene through town on the way to the big jump,
but they probably won’t be funny for you. I also loved the
music during the movie, with a lot of emphasis on 80’s hair
metal.
In the end I’ll give "Hot Rod" 2 Stars out of 5, but it
easily had the potential for 3 or 4. Isla Fisher was as
adorable as ever, but Adam Samberg needs to create his own
persona instead of trying to be the next Will Ferrell.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!!
L8R!!! |
