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MOVIE
REVIEW: Hot Rod
08/03/07
Let me start by making a confession
. . . I have a very open sense of humor. I’ll laugh at almost
any kind of humor. Having said that, I actually enjoyed this
movie. I also realize, however, that not everybody will. It
falls in the Anchorman, Benchwarmers, Napoleon Dynamite,
Nacho Libre category of humor films. If you are a fan of
those, you’ll enjoy Hot Rod. It is physical, stupid, corny,
unexpected, and just plain off the wall humor. Not exactly
high quality, but still very fun to watch.
Hot Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) has the heart of a daredevil,
but he’s just not very good at it. Don’t tell him that
because he laughs at the face of danger. What he lacks in
talent, he gains in courage. His main goal in life is to make
his deceased father proud of him through his stuntman ways,
and to earn the respect of his stepfather, Frank Powell (Ian
McShane). The problem is that the only way to gain Frank’s
respect is to whoop him in a fight. . . something that Rod
has yet to accomplish. When Frank becomes ill and requires a
heart transplant, Rod steps up to the challenge of raising
the necessary money to save Frank. Rod’s motivation is not
necessarily love or caring, but the desire to have another
chance to beat the crap out of him and thus earn his respect.
Andy Samberg has stepped up to the challenge of the big
screen and I think he succeeded. This being his first
starring role and with the added pressure of being an SNL
alumnus, it is not a bad start. You can see his potential and
can only expect bigger and better things. I mean, sure, he’s
no Adam Sandler, but time will tell. I was a little
disappointed with Isla Fisher’s role in this movie as Denise,
Rod’s love interest. Although she was radiant as always, her
comedic abilities were underutilized. Ian McShane, on the
other hand, does a good job of pushing Rod into manhood as
his abusive stepfather. Keep an eye on Chester Tam as
Richardson, a Team Rod groupie who has a very small role but
oh so funny. All the characters in this movie are endearing
in their own unique way.
In these kind of movies, the plot is not as important as how
funny the plot is delivered. In this case, not only is the
plot delivery funny, the plot itself is off the beaten path.
The true success of a comedy lies heavily on its dialogue. In
this piece, the dialogue and its performers were made for
each other. Even the musical elements fell right in line with
the goal of the film.
Where does this comedy place in comparison to the recent
others you ask? Well, it falls after Chuck and Larry and
Knocked Up (only if you like this “stupid” humor kind of
movie, otherwise it might not even get placed). Not only is
this Andy’s first major work in theaters, it is also Director
Akiva Shaffer’s first time up and just like Andy, give Akiva
some credit for a job well done considering it’s his first
try. Granted, he’s also from the school of SNL so working
with this cast should have been a smooth transition for him.
I tell ya, these SNL folks, what a comedic monopoly.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
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Hot Rod
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This movie was boring beyond belif. It
was the worst movie I have ever
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Director: Akiva Schaffer
Writer: Pam Brady
Genre: Action
Comedy
Duration: 1hr 23mins
Staring: Andy Samberg
Isla Fisher
Jorma Taccone
Bill Hader
Sissy Spacek
Ian McShane
Producer:
Lorne Michaels
John Goldwyn
Distributor: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Rating:
PG-13 for crude humor, language,
some comic drug-related and violent
content
Release Date: August 3, 2007
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