Hot Rod is a
comedy that my initial artistic sensibilities told me to reject
because of its blatant goofiness, but I resisted this notion out
of respect for the material’s sheer audacity, and in the process
developed a deep respect for its wacky antics. The movie—a joint
collaboration of old-time buddies (actors) Andy Samberg, Jorma
Taccone, and (director) Akiva Schaffer—could have taken two days
to make just as easily as it could’ve taken two-hundred. In
truth, I’m not so sure how much care was put into the product;
much of Hot Rod’s random
humor seems to be improvised, but it’s also too clever and too
effective to be dismissed as one big string of throwaway gags.
While the picture never amounts to anything in terms of a
narrative, the comedy on display here is fresh, innovative, and
exciting. Leading-man Samberg and his buddies may not reach a
level of comedic mastery at any point in the film’s duration,
but the goofy style that they imbue in Hot
Rod is enough to
show signs of a path that will one day lead them to this.
Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a
twentysomething still living at home with his naive mother
(Sissy Spacek, who must have been bribed Big-Time to appear in this movie),
Marie, and competitive stepdad, Frank (Ian McShane). Rod aspires
to fill the shoes of his late father, who Rod is told was Evil
Kneivel’s daring test-rider, a dangerous profession which led to
an untimely death. In order to accomplish this, Rod proclaims
himself a stuntman and wanders around his suburban neighborhood
lighting himself on fire and attempting to jump across the
community pool on his bicycle, among other things. Signs of an
actual plot arrive onscreen when Stepdad Frank, who is regarded
as a stronger and superior human being than Rod, comes down with
a fatal disease which will require a $50,000 heart transplant to
fix. Realizing that he will not ever be able to become
“stronger” than Frank if Frank is dead, Rod sets out to attempt
an unthinkable stunt to raise funds for an operation:
motorcycle-jump over fifteen buses, one more than Evil did
himself.
Part of Hot
Rod’s charm derives itself from the picture’s homemade
production values. Samberg and his pals found fame creating
“Digital Shorts” for Saturday Night Live, which they assembled
themselves using limited filmmaking equipment. Hot
Rodis no different: shot on HD cameras, it feels as though
it was assembled by a group of friends hoarding around a MacBook
Pro during the wee hours of the night in someone’s living room.
Strangely, though, the picture remains tightly edited despite
its cheaply organic roots; at less than an hour and a half, it
remains concise and tautly-paced throughout its full duration.
Due to this structural soundness, viewers will appreciate Hot
Rod’s strangely-edited delusions and references rather than
dismiss them. These work tremendously within the context of what
is being presented. Director Schaffer allows anything amusing to
enter the final cut: by the time the movie was over, I had
picked up on references to everything from David Gordon Green
films to random YouTube clips.
While Hot
Rod’s brand of comedy may never quite come together to
create a complete motion picture, it certainly will elicit a
reaction from the viewer. The movie is the quirkiest comedy to
enter American multiplexes since Napoleon
Dynamite and, at
the right moments, it’s very, very funny.
