Bad Story, But Enjoyable Fun

Rating: 7/10 (27 January 2015)

Many people at the time of the making of this movie "Hot Rod" have asked themselves, is Andy Samberg ready to enter the film industry after only a one year stint on the iconic sketch comedy, "Saturday Night Live"? Veteran alums like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell took them many years to develop their acting chops in comedy before advancing through in their careers as movie stars. Now all of the sudden, this young man who's just wrapped up his second year on SNL has left the set and is now making his debut on the big screen. It felt as if Samberg was rushing his movie career too fast by not taking his time gain experience like Sandler and Ferrell did, and even I asked myself why? The only reason I could come up with was at the time SNL's roster didn't seem primed up for movie stardom yet. Samberg was the only true star at the time who seemed eligible for stardom. The movie "Hot Rod" was a pivotal step in the right direction, but Samberg is still eons away from the success Sandler and Ferrell has had with their movies.
Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, who has ambitions to become a famed stuntman because his late father was fellow stuntman who once worked for the legendary Evel Knievel. He doesn't have any kind of major goal in life, but the one thing he wants more than anything in the world is get the respect from his father Frank Powell (Ian McShane) who has verbally and taunted Rod ever since he's been in his family's life. Even though he tries his hardest and has had his share of bumps, bruises and broken bones, he still an awful stuntman and no one seems to take him seriously. However his half-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone) and his dim-witted friends Rico and Dave (Danny McBride and Bill Hader) along with his love interest Denise (Isla Fischer) seem to support him all the way. When he comes home his mother, Maries (Sissy Spacek) informs him that Frank is now diagnosed with severe heart conditions and that he needs a substantial amount of money for much needed surgery or else he'll die. Rod decides to sacrifice his life and limb to raise the required money by attempting the impossible stunt by stunt biking over 15 school buses. If he and Frank pull through this he has fulfilled his destiny and finally get to kick Frank's behind.
If you think "Hot Rod" is a standard comedy, you may as well say Hitler was just a serial killer. You're told that because everyone else says so, but after seeing this movie you'll know better that it's all not true. You will be manipulated to laugh for the sole purpose that everyone around you is laughing. sure the opening scenes are very hilarious with the faux "Jackass" promo, the spoof of the 1980's film "Footloose" and his falling down cliff are vintage laugh out loud moments. And then by the second half, it just starts to get weird. It's not everyday you see a man costumed as a grilled cheese sandwich combating against a man dressed as a taco. I mean this racial joke goes beyond surreal by adding blood for good measure (or was just taco sauce). Samberg and his fellow cohorts manage to take simple slogans like "Cool beans" and turn it into a You Tube infused rap will surely make everyone laugh, while you wonder how this scene made it into the final cut.
Aside from the continual brain farts and the weed smoking flashbacks, the main flaw towards "Hot Rod" was that even though it sacrifices itself in its outrageous humor giving this film more guts than brains, the main setback was the emphasis on Rod's hobby as if nothing else really matters. The funniest thing about "Hot Rod" isn't how Rod keeps falling flat on his face through every stunt attempt, but it's the interaction between he and his eternally cranky step-father. And the finale at the end leads to the climactic showdown between Rod and the now fully recovered Frank. One memorable scene that had me laughing was when Frank pulled out a ninja star and threw it at Rod. It was truly one of the best scenes ever witnessed in a film for a very long time. And while "Hot Rod" is a very good, movie it's far from being perfect. For starters Isla Fischer who seems quite capable as a comedic actress, she has very little to work with. And while Pam Brady who wrote the script for "South Park: Bigger Louder and Uncut" really didn't need any assistance from Samberg and company. But by the end of the "Hot Rod" is a pivotal milestone for Andy Samberg, and the future looks good, still "Hot Rod" is far from great, but it gives the true test of time that a bad movie can still be enjoyable.