Hot Rod

August 3rd, 2007 by James Cook | Source:

Directed by: Akiva Schaffer
Written by: Pam Brady
Starring: Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Jorma Taccone, Isla Fisher, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek, Danny R. McBride, Will Arnet

Score: 5/10

Two years ago, Saturday Night Live was in trouble. It was going through one of those massive slumps after the majority of the great talent had left to pursue better things. Around this time a group of guys (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone) known as The Lonely Island were taking the internet by storm with their hilarious shorts and music videos. They were all hired by SNL and while the show is arguably still in trouble, they have brought some life back into it.

There’s no question that these guys know how to be funny, their SNL digital shorts are hilarious, but can they transition from the shorts to feature length? Well since Hot Rod is their first movie and its all we have to judge this on then the answer would have to be no.

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) desperately wants to be a stuntman. However Rod isn’t any good at the stunts and always ends up being the subject of a huge crash. Rod also has an obsession of trying to earn the respect of his step-father, Frank (Ian McShane). He fights Frank on a daily basis, with the hopes that if he beats him he will gain his respect.

Rod learns that Frank needs a heart transplant. He needs to help his step-father, but not out of love, but so he can beat him up and earn his respect. With the help of his friends Dave (Bill Hader), Rico (Danny R. McBride) and step-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone) they set out to raise $50,000 for a heart transplant operation.

The biggest problem with this movie is this. Hot Rod is a comedy and it’s not funny. There are two primary reasons for this, the script isn’t all that great, although I’m sure a better story was in there somewhere. The Lonely Island guys need to come up with there own story. Pam Brady’s script isn’t the proper template for them. They try and put in some of the things that hey have used in the past and brought to SNL, but it ends up falling flat because it just doesn’t work with this story.

The other reason is Andy Samberg. He couldn’t handle this at all, the weight of the jokes fall on him and he just doesn’t pull them off. It seems like he is trying too hard. His style of humor can work in a digital short, but when you take that brand of humor and stretch it out over ninety minutes it just fails.

Bill Hader, who is very underrated, has some funny moments in the movie but not enough to save it. Will Arnet also makes an appearance playing the same character he’s played forever, and manages to get a few laughs.

Overall, while Hot Rod isn’t a complete disaster it doesn’t bring anything new to the table and just doesn’t have enough laughs. In a packed summer it would be a wise choice to take your ten bucks and go see something else.