Amusing tale could have been great shorter or with a more daring director

Rating: 6/10 (14 October 2007)

Rod fancies himself a stunt man in the Evel Knievel mode. He also has a stepfather who doesn't really respect him because he doesn't fight (the step-dad) well. When the stepfather needs a heart operation Rod comes up with plan to raise the money so that he can get him well and then beat him up.
Amusing film from an SNL alum that either needed to be about an hour long or directed by a more daring director willing to make it something more original. Its an amusing movie that has couple of big laughs, several smaller ones, and a charm that some how keeps it a float. Ian McShane as the stepfather is a hoot and the rest of the cast is pleasant. The problem with the film is simply that it never reaches very far past the premise nor does it strive to be anything more than run of the mill. This is a film that has a plot you can pretty much guess once its set in motion and characters, that while amusing, were all taken off the busiest shelf in the cliché store. That would be fine for a movie we see on cable, but you're asking us to plunk down ten bucks to sit in a theater and watch something that, while amusing isn't original enough to be worth the cash outlay. Don't get me wrong I liked the movie and it made me laugh but had I paid big bucks to take my family to see this I'd be very angry.
Worth a look on cable or as a rental (it will amuse you), just don't pay ten bucks a head for this.