Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Jun 7, 2016 15:28:11 GMT -5
Hot Rod
Dir. Akiva Schaffer
Premiered August 3, 2007
The arrival of Hot Rod was, amazingly, my introduction to The Lonely Island, the Los Angeles-based comedy team that broke out of the local scene in the mid-2000s and, through Andy Samberg, brought new relevance to the long-running sketch program Saturday Night Live. The team was at its peak at this time, with Samberg the breakout star of that SNL cast, and his appearance to promote this film on The Daily Show led me to check out his work.
Oddly, it didnāt lead me to seek out Hot Rod in the theater. Which isnāt that strange; I rarely went to movie theaters due to cost and the difficulty of scheduling with friends, and it wasnāt as if there werenāt other, better things to see at that time. And the advertising looked really stupid. But it got kind of an underground following pretty quick, so I ended up looking forward to seeing it now.
Samberg plays Rod Kimble, an ambitious townie whose late father was a legendary stuntman. Wanting to follow in his footsteps, he gets a team together (played by Bill Hader, Jorma Taccone, Danny McBride, and Isla Fisher) with the intent of jumping over fifteen buses on a motorcycle (one more than Evel Knievel) for a $50,000 reward. With this money he plans to get his violent but ailing stepfather Frank (Ian McShane) a new heart, saving his life so Rod can eventually beat him in a fight.
If you like Andy Samberg, youāre going to like this movie. Samberg is probably the only person in the world who can pull off the ābumbling braggartā persona, and with the Lonely Island team behind him, the dialogue and pacing know exactly when and how to bring the laughter. The supporting cast is great as well; Isla Fisher is a general nice love interest with a gratuitously douchey boyfriend (Will Arnett), and Danny McBride plays his usual casually violent type, but the real standouts are Hader as Rodās non-sequitur-dropping, drug-enthusiast mechanic; and McShane, who strikes terror into Rodās heart but does it with a wry smile, much like his previous character Al Swearingen on Deadwood.
Hot Rod isnāt a great film by any stretch; at best itās the third-best comedy film of August 2007ā in very good company, mind youā; but it is perfect for what it is: a silly, goofy comedy from some silly, goofy people.
Sign This Was Made in 2007
Lonely Island sidekick Chester Tam has a minor roleā heād later take advantage of the 2007-08 WGA strike to create the miniature webseries How to Become an Internet Celebrity. Plus, thereās a lot of ā80s nostalgia, with a soundtrack full of synth-pop and mullet rock.
Additional Notes
Sissy Spacek plays Rodās mom, and she looks just like Shirley MacLaine here. I couldnāt stop seeing Shirley MacLaine.
Also in Theaters
Dir. Akiva Schaffer
Premiered August 3, 2007
The arrival of Hot Rod was, amazingly, my introduction to The Lonely Island, the Los Angeles-based comedy team that broke out of the local scene in the mid-2000s and, through Andy Samberg, brought new relevance to the long-running sketch program Saturday Night Live. The team was at its peak at this time, with Samberg the breakout star of that SNL cast, and his appearance to promote this film on The Daily Show led me to check out his work.
Oddly, it didnāt lead me to seek out Hot Rod in the theater. Which isnāt that strange; I rarely went to movie theaters due to cost and the difficulty of scheduling with friends, and it wasnāt as if there werenāt other, better things to see at that time. And the advertising looked really stupid. But it got kind of an underground following pretty quick, so I ended up looking forward to seeing it now.
Samberg plays Rod Kimble, an ambitious townie whose late father was a legendary stuntman. Wanting to follow in his footsteps, he gets a team together (played by Bill Hader, Jorma Taccone, Danny McBride, and Isla Fisher) with the intent of jumping over fifteen buses on a motorcycle (one more than Evel Knievel) for a $50,000 reward. With this money he plans to get his violent but ailing stepfather Frank (Ian McShane) a new heart, saving his life so Rod can eventually beat him in a fight.
If you like Andy Samberg, youāre going to like this movie. Samberg is probably the only person in the world who can pull off the ābumbling braggartā persona, and with the Lonely Island team behind him, the dialogue and pacing know exactly when and how to bring the laughter. The supporting cast is great as well; Isla Fisher is a general nice love interest with a gratuitously douchey boyfriend (Will Arnett), and Danny McBride plays his usual casually violent type, but the real standouts are Hader as Rodās non-sequitur-dropping, drug-enthusiast mechanic; and McShane, who strikes terror into Rodās heart but does it with a wry smile, much like his previous character Al Swearingen on Deadwood.
Hot Rod isnāt a great film by any stretch; at best itās the third-best comedy film of August 2007ā in very good company, mind youā; but it is perfect for what it is: a silly, goofy comedy from some silly, goofy people.
Sign This Was Made in 2007
Lonely Island sidekick Chester Tam has a minor roleā heād later take advantage of the 2007-08 WGA strike to create the miniature webseries How to Become an Internet Celebrity. Plus, thereās a lot of ā80s nostalgia, with a soundtrack full of synth-pop and mullet rock.
Additional Notes
Sissy Spacek plays Rodās mom, and she looks just like Shirley MacLaine here. I couldnāt stop seeing Shirley MacLaine.
Also in Theaters
- Becoming Jane, a middlingly-received Jane Austen biopic starring Anne Hathaway.
- The Bourne Ultimatum, which I wouldāve reviewed if Iād seen any of the Bourne Movies.
- Underdog, a live-action superhero dog movie based on a cartoon from the 60s. That exists.
Next Time: Rocket Science
