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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:38
Rotten:61
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: A few funny scenes can't save the disjointed Hot Rod, which is too silly and sloppy to hold up.
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
US Box Office: $13,920,741
Synopsis: Amateur suburban stunt man Rod Kimble (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE's Andy Samberg) believes he's destined to follow in the footsteps of his late father, who made test runs of Evel Knievel's stunts before... [More]
Starring: Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader
Director: Akiva Schaffer
Prepare to be dazzled, we are told in the first few minutes, as fireworks are lit in eager anticipation. But the fireworks fizzle big time, as does this tedious, tired comedy that is short on appeal and laughs. Wacky and low-brow it is, but fun it ain't
Top CriticThe presence of a relatable hero would go a long way towards making this feel like a real movie rather than a collection of skits.
Though it's as disposable as a plastic razor, Hot Rod is not without a few good yuks.
... a cousin to the comedies of Will Ferrell with a younger skew, a kooky '80s nostalgia... and a low-key amiability...
No one seems to have told the Lonely Island boys that the stakes are a little higher in features than they are in music videos, and that underlighted shots and sloppy editing are more distracting on the big screen than the TV monitor.
Cell phones, the Internet, '80s fashion and '70s style are all thrown together for a winning combination.
A lasting problem with so many SNL-populated movies is the ingrown clubbiness of its humor -- the suggestion, whether overt or implied, that comedy is nothing more than a funny idea flogged to death by a fraternity of late-night wags.
Silly but funny.
Top CriticOh, Napoleon Dynamite! What have you wrought? [Blu-ray]
Chock-full of references to bad teen movies from the '80s and saturated with sarcasm, Hot Rod is a cheekily fun sendup of Gen X iconography.
Top CriticIt isn't just throwing joke darts at a board in the hopes that a few stick. It's throwing them at the pool table, the bartender, your face, then dynamiting the wall to go after the building next door.
The film steals one of the best laughs of Jon Heder's surprise 2004 hit, the scene where Napoleon nosedives over a bicycle jump, and stretches the gag into an 86-minute movie.
Here's a strange, hit-and-miss approach to the kind of movie in which Will Ferrell usually stars.
Hot Rod is a fresh, hip take on the Bumbling Idiot genre that made Will Ferrell a superstar, and Samberg throws himself into the role with an amiable mix of birthday-entertainer goofiness and klutzy bravado.
It's a simple comedy that tries to be nothing but. At times it is simple hilarity, other times it's a little too "Napoleon Dynamite" for its own good.
More like Lukewarm Rod.
Well worth checking out, then, if you like your comedy supremely silly, but ultimately memorable only as a series of great skits mixed in with some dead patches.
Top CriticThose hoping for feature-length doses of Samberg's Lazy Sunday wit will have to settle for just plain lazy, as Hot Rod aims low and still manages to miss its target.
Top CriticSamberg proves to be less than big screen-ready (hardly surprising, given his most notable SNL work has come in music video shorts and not any sketch work).
Silly at best, stupid at worst, and surprisingly unfunny overall, Hot Rod is a classic example of what's wrong with 'SNL.'
November 27, 2007:
RT on DVD: A Warm Slice of Waitress, A Side of Futurama, Hold the Lindsay Lohan Career Killer
This week, navigate the minefields of the rotten (Mr. Bean's Holiday, Hot Rod) and the even worse (Lindsay Lohan's career-murdering I Know Who Killed Me) to pick up a genuine... More...
August 24, 2007:
Yes, They Are Still Making That Dallas Movie
It's been awhile since we've heard any news about the forever-in-the-works Dallas movie, but don't be fooled -- the development gears have continued to grind behind the scenes,... More...
August 05, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Bourne Beats Bart for Box Office Crown
Matt Damon set a new opening weekend record for the month of August with the top spot bow of The Bourne Ultimatum, the third installment in the actor's signature spy series. The... More...
August 02, 2007:
Bourne Is Certified Fresh; Hot Rod Hits the Skids; Bratz is Grade-Z; El Cantante Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we got amnesiac spies (The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon and Julia Stiles), loser daredevils (Hot Rod, with Andy Samberg and Isla Fisher), salsa... More...
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