HOT ROD!

HOT ROD is HOT POOP!

That's my easily digestible soundbyte for Andy Samberg's new Comedy, Hot Rod...

To get a bit (or alot) more longwinded about this, check it out >>>>>

Ten minutes into this movie, I leaned over to Taber and said, "This might be the dumbest movie I've ever seen in my life", which I meant in a complimentary way. In fact, when all is said and done, Hot Rod may have replaced Dumb & Dumber as my favorite Dumb Comedy of All-Time...

And by Dumb Comedy, perhaps I should say Smart Dumb Comedy, because this sort of nonsense is intentially dumb, as opposed to any of Ice Cube's last three or four comedies, which are just plain dumb. Movies ignorant of their own stupidity.

Andy Samberg and his friends (director Akiva Schaffer, co-star Jorma Taccone) know Hot Rod is a dumb movie, full of dumb people saying and doing dumb things, and it takes a bit of smarts to make it work and make it funny, as this film so often and so convincingly is...As they daringly do...

Pam Brady wrote the script. She's also written several episodes of Fox's recently-cancelled sitcom, The Loop, as well as episodes of South Park, the South Park Movie, and Team America: World Police...That's a damn solid resume, cuz really, The Loop was pretty funny, and well, South Park, dude...

So what all these smart and funny people have done with Hot Rod, is fashion as silly and dumb a film as they possibly could...They took the Anchorman: Ron Burgundy template, and turned it inside out...Stretched the gooey dumb as far as possible and gave us something as oftentimes borders on the surreal. Small explosions of dada from time to time...Small moments of tender mercies, allowing us to catch our breath...

Speaking of...I heard rumor that this was originally supposed to be a Will Ferrell movie, but he's just too old for the role...It had to be about teenagers and/or indeterminate 20-somethings, and Samberg, in particular, performs the lead role with 100% goofy abandon...

Oh, the plot? Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a young Evel Knievel-kinda stuntman, who is an achingly awful stuntman, who gives up his pathetic career and his fake moustache, only to have love and probable head traumas bring him back for one last jump to raise $50,000 dollars for his step-dad's operation...

The step-dad is played fucking brilliantly by respected UK actor, Ian McShane, and the hardcore "issues" between Rod and his step-dad provide a seriously dark streak of black comedy to all the dumbness...Meanwhile, Sissy Spacek plays Rod's mom as a flighty, granola kinda woman, oblivious to the anger and violence between her husband and son...and possibly medicated...

Interesting and successful casting to say the least, althought If I have one complaint, it's Wil Arnett's role as Jonathan, the smarmy tool kinda character that is quickly painting Arnett into a very small corner...Is this the only thing Wil Arnett can do, or is this the only thing Hollywood is handing him? Either way...yawn...And I yawn while telling you that I'm a bonafide Arrested Development freak, and his role as GOB was singularly great. He perfectly nails this smarmy tool kinda guy, so now, leave it alone...Everything I've seen him do since has been an emptier and more meaningless take on GOB...

Oh, and Isla Fisher as the sweet eye candy love interest, and newcomer Danny McBride as one of Kimble's crew, who turns in my favorite character/performance in the whole film...

Anyways...this is all just to say (Arnett aside) that I laughed louder and more often during Hot Rod than any other movie I've seen in a long, long, long time...I also groaned a fair amount, and said "awww, Geezus" on occasion...

Of course, I was also hopped up on kind and 24 ounces of Cherry Blast Icee, but still, this movie is epic in it's stupidity, an instant comedy classic that should stand up pretty well to repeated viewings...Your opinion may vary...

Oh, plus, I saw a FREE advanced screening of this movie, so take that any way you want...

5 out of 5

Hotcha!

Hank