Hot Rod (2007)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Best movie ever!

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I have watched this movie over a dozen times now and i can't get enough of it. sure the jokes can be silly at times but this movie will keep you in non-stop laughter! The lonely islands Akiva Schaffer directs while Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg star, this dream trio completely perfects the movie. Bill Hader and Danny Mcbride are also excellent, sometimes pulling off the most ridiculous jokes. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone with a sense of humor. 10/10

"Hot Rod" is a very familiar story, as it's both a reworking of "Dirty Work" and is very similar to many of the recent loser does good films. However, it's told in a rather pedestrian manner and lacks the fun of other similar films, such as "Talladega Nights" and "Waterboy". The story is a goofy tale about a total loser who manages to somehow achieve a tiny level of success by the end of the film. Andy Samberg is Rod Kimble...a guy who has no job, lives in his parents house and has an obsession with doing stunts....nearly all of which he completely misses achieving. He decides to up his game and do some PAYING stunts in order to afford to give his verbally and physically abusive step- dad a new heart.There are several problems with the film. The first is that it just isn't written all that well. Despite being a lot like "Dirty Work" and the films I mentioned above, it replicates a VERY familiar pattern but in a completely unimpressive and not particularly funny way. I think the reason I was so unimpressed as well is because I thoroughly LOVED Samberg's "Pop Star" and know that he's capable of much more given a well written script. Overall, it's a time-passer and nothing more...mostly due to there being little in the characters to like as well as a dearth of humor.

With a pal about to go and study business at a university,I asked if there was any kind of movie that she was keen on seeing,and got told that she was keen in watching a "Zany Comedy." Looking at lists of Comedy movies from the 2000's,I stumbled on a delightful looking Comedy which has somehow completely passed me by,which led to me jumping on the hot rod.The plot:Lovingly holding onto the photo his late dad took with Evel Knievel, Rod Kimble dreams of following all the tales that his mum tells him about dad,and become a legendary stuntman.Whilst he has big dreams,Kimble suffers one major problem:he is accident prone.Making sure that he is aware of his flaws,Kimble's step-dad Frank Powell beats him up,and tells Kimble that he will never have the guts to beat him in a fight. Returning home after another ill- fated stunt with his friends Rico,Dave,Denise and his half-brother Kevin,Kimble finds out that Powell needs a heart operation which he can't afford. Wanting to keep Powell alive long enough to beat him in a fight, (what heroic motivation!)Kimble decides to raise funds by becoming the ultimate stunt man.View on the film:Washed with a synch score from Yes band member Trevor Rabin and pure Power Pop tracks from Europe,director Akiva Schaffer & cinematographer Andrew Dunn soak the title in an 80's atmosphere, glistening as the sun sets down on Kimble's failed stunts, and lighting each of Kimble's failed set-pieces with bright blues,yellows and green that give the flick a wonderful animated appearance. Jammed from driving off via years in development,the screenplay by Pam Brady sets the film ablaze with an amazingly fresh zest,juiced from hilariously off-beat one-liners rolling with sharply cut aggression.Lining up with the dialogue, Brady rocks Kimble's ambitions with excellent physical Comedy set-pieces,driven from Kimble's near- deadly mishaps to perform successful stunts,and a burning rage to put the old man in his place.Knocking Kimble down with every shot, Ian McShane gives a great barking mad performance as Powell,whilst Bill Hader, Danny McBride and a cute Isla Fisher give energetic turns in pushing Kimble on.Smashing into every wall put in front of him, Andy Samberg gives an excellent performance as Kimble,thanks to Samberg giving Kimble a cape of ow-shucks 80's sense of adventure with a very funny, unhinged anger,as Kimble rides off on the hot rod.

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) is a man-child trying imitate his dead stuntman father who supposedly worked for Evel Knievel. He's in love with his neighbor Denise (Isla Fisher) and struggles for his stepfather Frank (Ian McShane)'s approval. To raise money for Frank's surgery, he intends to jump 15 school buses with the help of his friends Rico (Danny McBride), Dave (Bill Hader) and his half-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone). Denise joins in the gang but it turns out that she's going out with the douchey Jonathan Ault (Will Arnett).Andy Samberg has built a movie around stupidity. However the stupidity is generally not that funny with a few exceptions. One thing is certain. Samberg and cast are fully committed to put every strange weird things on the screen. When it works, it gets some big laughs. This is like a series of extended SNL digital shorts put together in a pretty thin plot.