Hot Rod

You have to be an Andy Samberg fan in order to enjoy Hot Rod. His sketches on Saturday Night Live are often humourous but odd; he is not yet in the realm of Will Ferrell or to a lesser degree, Jimmy Fallon. Samberg’s greatest talent on SNL is bringing his warped Digital Shorts to the masses. Trying to find the original content on YouTube is next to impossible thanks to the overflowing Samberg spoofs. Most people have heard his Narnia rap, Lazy Sunday and swooned to the Emmy-nominated Dick in a Box duet with Justin Timberlake, but check out the strangeness of Dear Sister (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ys5LqfEO1Y) which matches gun shots to Imogen Heap’s 'Hide and Seek' in an overblown OC homage. Even more bizarre is Andy Popping Into Frame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRU2gLpBm68) which is just like it sounds. And don’t get me started on Laser Cats. If this is your type of humour, I think you’ll find Hot Rod moderately funny.

Hot Rod is basically like twenty SNL sketches about the same character, with five of them being very funny, five of them amusing and the rest a one-joke wonder. Andy Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a pathetic stuntman who tries to raise money to help his dying stepfather so he can kick his ass later and prove himself a man. Samberg is great at playing a sweet character whose priorities are in the wrong place. You can’t help but root for him and pity him at the same time. The stunts are both terrible and funny but have been used in the trailers for the movie, so if you’re still laughing at his jump over the truck (like I am) then you’ll enjoy the stunt aspect of this film. The parental storyline is atrocious. Ian McShane, of Deadwood fame, is wasted as Rod’s stepfather who keeps belittling his son and fighting dirty in the basement. The friends, played by Bill Hader (SNL, Superbad), Danny R. McBride, and Jorma Taccone (co-writer of SNL Digital Shorts along with director, Akiva Schaffer), have fun moments but are not given much depth. The ultra-hot Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) is the unlikely female friend of the group and love interest for Rod. Will Arnett (Arrested Development, Blades of Glory) and Chris Parnell (Anchorman, SNL) put in some fun cameos but it’s a shame they couldn’t get a walk on by Evel Knievel or at least Super Dave Osborne.

While most of the jokes in Hot Rod are juvenile, there are some extremely funny scenes. Rod’s Footloose homage and subsequent mountain fall kept the audience laughing long after it was over. Also the cheesy inspirational walk to John Farnham’s 'You’re the Voice' takes a dark but funny turn, much like the escalating brawl in Anchorman. Unfortunately, these wonderfully crafted scenes are mixed with odd moments like the too-long run of the phrase “cool beans”. This movie was originally intended for Will Ferrell but when he passed, it was Samberg-ized. The film was retooled by the SNL Digital Short team of Samberg, Taccone and Schaffer, so it’s not surprising how hot and cold it turned out.

Hot Rod is a movie you can wait for on DVD. I’m sure many of you would not want to waste your money on this one. But like I said, if you’re a big Andy Samberg fan, you are going to like a lot of this film. I know I’ll be re-watching some of the scenes when they get around to airing it on TBS.

Upcoming reviews: Rescue Dawn, Rush Hour 3