Writer: Pam Brady
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader, Danny R. McBride, Isla Fischer, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek
Rating: PG13
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: November 27, 2007
If it weren’t for Andy Samberg, Saturday Night Live would be all but dead and gone. Every once in a while a person or team comes along and breathes life into SNL. After David Spade, Chris Farley, and Adam Sandler left things were pretty stagnant.
I had stopped watching, but later tuned in from time to time after seeing clips of Samberg in “Dick in a Box” and imitating Kevin Federline, in hopes of catching a glimpse of one of his sketches. After that I was pretty much sold. So, when I was told that Hot Rod was coming out and that it was up for review, I jumped at the chance to pick it up.
Release Information:
Despite the fact that Hot Rod was only in theaters for a short time, I think the DVD release will be much more successful. The DVDs (HD and Standard) were released on November 27, 2007. Hot Rod, which was released by Paramount Home Video offers various special features, in addition to the movie.
Hot Rod can be purchased through all major retailers along with online retailers, such as Amazon. On Amazon, you can purchase the HD version of this film for $27.95, which qualifies you for free shipping.
The Hot Rod Plot
Andy Samberg stars as a fumbling, wannabe stuntman named Rod Kimball, in this off the wall comedy about a dysfunctional family and the dreams of one untalented half-wit. Rod means well, but he’s about as dense as they come. He goes around in his little stuntman outfit and tries to jump everything from pools to mail trucks, but he can’t even pop a wheelie without causing himself painful amounts of sadomasochistic damage. Rod is one of those guys who think he’s good at something until everyone laughs at him and shows him that he’s not. He’s cool though, because he ends up doing it anyway.
Rod lives with his overtly dysfunctional family, which consists of his half-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone), who is also on Rod’s pit crew, his Mom (Sissy Spacek) and stepfather Frank (Iam McShane). Rod and his stepdad have this violent rivalry going that Rod never seems to win. So, when he finds out that Frank has a heart condition and is going to die without a heart transplant, he knows he has to do something fast, otherwise he may never get the chance to kick Frank’s ass.
In order to make sure that Rod gets his day with Frank, he cooks up a scheme to make $50,000. The ideas in his scheme range from playing kid’s parties to performing a death defying jump unlike anything he has ever accomplished. He is helped out by his friends, Rico (Danny R. McBride), who needs anger management, and Dave (Bill Hader), who is about as dopey as they come. Finally we have the girl aka Rod’s love interest, who is named Denise (Isla Fisher). Rod and Denise were friends in school and she ends up on his crew. I am sure you can see where this is going.
In this movie, Samberg definitely does not disappoint. His Flashdance paraody is absolutely hilarious, while his stunt scenes are particularly hard to watch. It’s not his fault. They just look like they hurt! When you add in the team of Taccone, Hader, and McBride you have absolute comic genius. Isla Fisher was the only one I had questions about. She did well in her role, but the problem was the fact that the role seemed thrown together. It’s like they needed a romantic interest so they just tossed her into the mix.
I watched Hot Rod with a group of friends and I noticed that most all of them were laughing throughout the movie. The occasional person did not like the movie, but I figure that’s pretty normal. You aren’t going to be able to please all people with Hot Rod, but if you love comedies, parodies, and over the top humor then you should love this flick.
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Audio/Visual:
Watching HD DVDs often provides a sparkling picture that is stunning to watch. Hot Rod HD has an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, but it looks incredibly different than something like you might see in Transformers. The colors are slightly dingy and the colors offer a heavy 80s look. It’s obvious that they are supposed to look this way though, so I did not hold this against the production. When it comes to audio, the TrueHD isn’t bad and the Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 (available in three languages) sounds fabulous.
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Bonus Features:
The only HD feature that was on the Hot Rod HD DVD is the theatrical trailer. It appears that everything else offered was taken from the standard DVD because it’s not in HD. The bonus features include commentary tracks with Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer, trailers, deleted and extended scenes, and a homage to Flashdance called “Punch Dance.”
Other segments include “Kevin’s Videos” and a bonus featurette, “Ancestors Protect Me: Behind the Scenes of Hot Rod.”
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Bottom Line:
I couldn’t wait to see this movie and now that I have I am glad that I own it on HD. Hot Rod was an amazing movie that offers plenty of laughs. I highly recommend checking this one out, especially if you are a fan of Saturday Night Live. Samberg and Taccone are a great combination and this movie just proves this more than ever before. Check this one out and buy it if you like it!
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Technorati Tags: Hot Rod, DVD Review, Andy Samberg, Comedy, SNL, Ian McShane, Jorma Taccone, Movie, Stuntman
