Review of Hot Rod (1950) by Tom R — 06 Jun 2012
(4 Stars) You mileage will vary on how much you will laugh at Hot Rod, but in all its absurdity, it made me chuckle more than a few times. The humor is hit (the Footloose parody in the forest, a lot of jump cuts) or miss or somewhere in the middle (the 'cool beans' song).
I think the story is perfect for The Lonely Island as it seems like a lot of the comedy bits are unused SNL digital short ideas. Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) is tragically funny and his posse (Jorma Taccone, BIll Hader, Danny McBride) get some good lines.
Even in the context of the movie, I don't know how the very attractive Denise (Isla Fisher) falls for him, but she dates a huge jerk (Will Arnett, who's hysterical in all of his scenes) at the same time, so it's kind of makes sense.
What I really dig about Hot Rod is the numerous references to 80's inspirational films and the direction by Akiva Schaffer. In the end, it's like Napoleon Dynamite with more slapstick and I really like it.
This review of Hot Rod (1950) was written by Tom R on 06 Jun 2012.
Hot Rod has generally received positive reviews.
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