Hot Rod

Rated: PG-13 (for crude humor, language, some comic drug-related and violent content)
Runtime: 88 minutes
Directed by: Akiva Schaffer
Written by: Pam Brady
Starring: Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Sissy Spacek, Ian McShane

There’s no feeling like laughing out loud at a movie until you reach hysterical proportions with tears near-streaming down your mug. And every once in awhile I’m lucky enough to stumble upon just such a flick. Case in point – Hot Rod. Hands down one of the funniest films I’ve seen in years.

The story focuses on Rod (Andy Samberg), a wannabe daredevil extraordinaire who desperately wants to follow in his father’s death-defying motorbike stunt-laden footsteps. The ante is upped when Rod’s stepfather (Ian McShane), whom he constantly has knock-down-drag-out brawls with for both kicks and giggles and as a means of earning respect as a man, needs a $50,000 heart transplant and Rod has to use his amateur antics to raise some quick dough. So Rod embarks on an intense training excursion so that he can perform the greatest jump ever attempted on a bike to save his stepdad so he can beat the crap out of him (I’m totally serious).

Pam Brady’s script is a bit of comedic genius. She’s been a writer on South Park for years (and helped pen both the movie and creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s offensive puppet comedy riot Team America: World Police). The script also had uncredited influence from Samberg and other cast members as well as director Akiva Schaffer – all of whom are part of a comedy troupe responsible for most of the funnier moments on Saturday Night Live as of late. Schaffer makes a fine feature film debut here, providing a smart sense of pace, astute camera placement and great comedic timing.

The cast is great. Samberg’s a riot, as are Rod’s “crew” – mostly white-trash rejects who never got over high school. Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) adds a bit of grace to the insanity as Rod’s out-of-his-league love interest. Sissy Spacek is very underused, but her presence alone gives the flick a curious credibility. I have no idea why she decided to be in this, but I think it’s awesome that she did. And McShane (Deadwood) is a scream. His scenes with Rod are priceless.

This is one of the most random movies I’ve ever seen, but there’s rarely an unfunny moment. Rod hires himself out as a freelance entertainer and catches on fire during a stunt at a kid’s birthday party, running through the yard ablaze as little children run frantically screaming in terror. One of the crew-members beats the tar out of a guy in his driveway when he gives Rod grief for running into his car during a stunt. Rod and his stepfather tumble through walls, crack bricks over each others’ heads and toss ninja throwing stars during their fights. Rod’s Tai Chi training sequences are reminiscent of Rocky and the Karate Kid as he calls upon the spirits of a fox, bottlenose dolphin and housecat to aid him (did I mention he wears a glue-on mustache because he can’t grow one?). There’s this jubilant Asian guy who’s some sort of groupie that runs around tossing flyers in peoples’ faces and continually air-gyrates like he’s in an imaginary gay disco. That just grazes the surface.

I spent most of the movie out of breath due to incessant laughter. It’s hilariously ridiculous and a genuine comedic gem – destined to be a cult classic. If you combined Napoleon Dynamite and Billy Madison, added a dash of South Park and a fair helping of The State (a hysterical comedy sketch show on MTV in the early 90s – most members are now on Reno 911), you’d have an idea of what to expect from Hot Rod. At least until the riotous-looking Superbad comes out, Hot Rod is the guaranteed ticket to laugh this summer.

My Rating: B+