Review of Hot Rod (2007) by Dawdlingpoet — 25 Nov 2021

This is a slapstick comedy that is quite exaggerated or 'out there' but also its quite good, I thought.

I think in a way its a piss take on family or teen dramas, its certainly pretty over the top, with, for example, the stuffy middle aged sponsor of the big stunt having a crazy rebellious tattoo, which should make you laugh, in a 'well thats random and not what you'd expect' kind of a way. Also adding to the over the top-ness of it is the fact that, at points in the movie, it bursts into music, turning into a musical before suddenly cutting back to regular dialogue, so it is a bit surreal in that way.

It contains some of the usual elements of such a teen drama movie I guess, such as the hot girl (Denise, played by Isla Fisher (yes, its nice to know there is a fellow Isla in the acting business! lol) and the less than nice stepfather (Frank, played by Ian McShane), who Rod has to prove his worth to and so on.

The character of Rod reminds me alot of JD from the US sitcom Scrubs, in the way that he talks and Andy Samberg looks a bit like him too, I think.

Isla Fisher was a good choice for playing Denise, I think, too, as she plays the stereotyped blonde 'hot chick' type role quite well I guess.

Expect plenty of over exaggerated scenes, some slapstick and a sort of retro feel to the movie, which it clearly has (although it doesn't appear to be set then as CDs are used but from the stunt costumes and the music played in the background and other things, I thought it had quite a late 70s or 80s 'feel' to it).

This is pretty zany and daft and I feel a bit of a spoof on other more serious teen movies and it does well as this. There's also a similarity to the 'Karate Kid' movies (again with the 70s feel to it), with scenes involving Rod doing Tai Chi and getting to know his more spiritual side, thanks to Denise.

This is a pretty daft and silly movie but it is also pretty entertaining. Don't expect a masterpiece as its not really like that but it is pleasant and amusing enough for the length of the movie (about an hour and twenty five minutes). Its just about the right length, if it were to be too long it would probably grate a bit but it was a good length, I felt and I thought that Andy Samberg did quite well in his role as Rod, he has the right sort of look for the character and played the character with all his over exaggerated uh ness, quite well.

This film is worth watching, if it sounds like its something you'd enjoy, that you'd find it funny then you probably will, certainly the other reviews ive seen for it have all been positive, so yes I do recommend it.