Hot Rod

Review By: Rick Mele
RickMele@TheCinemaSource.com

Perhaps given its rapid-fire parodies or oddball sense of humor, it makes sense that Hot Rod lends itself so easily to comparisons. You’ll probably see a lot of Napoleon Dynamite nods, mostly due to the film’s meager budget and sad-sack group of losers. But if push came to shove (and I’m not sure why it ever would over a movie review), I’d say Hot Rod is more akin to the internet video version of Anchorman. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, but just so there are no surprises: clocking in at under 90 minutes, Hot Rod is a bit of a stretch as a feature.

It bears noting that the creative team behind Hot Rod is a group called Lonely Island, who first got noticed by making - what else? - a series of internet videos. Consisting of Andy Samberg (who plays the titular Rod), director Akiva Schaffer, and Rod’s scene-stealing step-brother aka Jorma Taccone, Lonely Island used their YouTube exposure to land all three cushy jobs at Saturday Night Live. With Akiva and Jorma writing and Andy in front of the camera, the trio has made the SNL Digital Short series their own, producing many of the segments most popular moments. The “Lazy Sunday” rap? That was these guys. “Dick in a Box?” Also these guys.

Over the past two years, they’ve made over 30 shorts for the popular skit show, and the experience clearly shows in their first foray into feature film. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to be confused with some god-awful Night at the Roxbury redux, but as it stands, the movie feels better suited to a much smaller screen. Consider it Will Ferrell-lite.

A quick recap of the plot: Rod Kimble (Samberg) is an amateur stuntman with one major problem in life – his stepfather Frank (Ian McShane, HBO’s “Deadwood”) is a real jerk. Frank picks on Rod mercilessly, and tosses him around in their weekly sparring sessions. But when Frank falls ill, Rod’s biggest dream is shattered – to one day kick Frank’s ass. Determined to save his stepfather’s life in order to take it himself, Rod needs a plan. To save up the money needed for Frank’s new heart, Rod is going to attempt to jump 15 buses – one more than Evel Knievel himself.

This offbeat premise is gleefully evil; it’s sure to be the first time in movie history we’ve ever heard a character yell, “I’m going to get you better Frank! And then I’m going to kill you!”, and allows for the usual sports movie clichés without the typical cheesy and trite ending. It’s a credit to McShane’s brilliant performance as Frank that Rod doesn’t merely come across as goonish. Without it, the premise wouldn’t work nearly as well. As it stands, McShane’s smug condescension and constant instigating make us want Frank’s ass kicked almost as much as Rod.

Samberg, on the other ...