![]() Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age even turn up – disguised as glam rock band Gown – to accompany Rod’s big jump with an original song, Head Honcho, that’s every bit as bombastic as you’d hope. Most of Europe’s 1986 LP, The Final Countdown, is in there somewhere and, along with other soft-rock anthems by the likes of Cutting Crew and Moving Pictures, couldn’t have been better chosen. Hot Rod’s music is a high point, as you’d expect from a Lonely Island film. Probably not the ideal scene to win over newcomers, unless they’re Reeves and Mortimer fans, that is. Then, of course, there’s the innocuous phrase “cool beans”, which sends Rod and Kevin spiralling into what can only be described as a Dadaist interlude almost as divisive as Duchamp’s urinal. An impromptu feel-good parade through his hometown, to the tune of John Farnham’s stirring hit You’re The Voice, starts out funny and becomes hysterical when it suddenly turns into an apocalyptic riot that our heroes barely escape. Will Arnett, meanwhile, doesn’t have a huge amount of screentime as Denise’s diabolical boyfriend, Jonathan, but his final appearance is a meme-worthy stroke of genius too good to spoil here. ![]() Rod’s Footloose-inspired punchdance through the woods as he works out his anger issues, culminating in a seemingly endless fall down a mountain, elevates the film to classic status all on its own. The entire film’s composed of one moment of inspired lunacy after another, with multiple viewings required to spot every hilarious touch. Trying to pick out favourite scenes from Hot Rod is difficult, to say the least. ![]() Special mention must go to Sissy Spacek as Rod’s mum Marie her decision to play the role completely straight only enhances the film’s ridiculousness. Watch out, too, for long-time Lonely Island collaborator Chester Tam as Rod’s scene-stealing superfan, Richardson. Samberg and Taccone’s off-screen friendship allows them to play brothers with a plausible mixture of genuine affection and amusingly vicious resentment. Samberg’s given sterling support by a top-notch cast including the incomparable Ian McShane as Frank, Isla Fisher as Rod’s smart and capable love interest Denise, Chris Parnell as demented AM radio host Barry Pasternack, and the combined comic forces of Bill Hader and Danny McBride in the roles of Dave and Rico, members of Rod’s devoted crew. As that comparison suggests, it’s a performance that should feature in any comedy fan’s top-ten list. Rod is a loveable, clueless overgrown kid whose nearest spiritual relative has to be Navin Johnson in Steve Martin’s The Jerk. It’s impossible to imagine Ferrell – or anyone else, for that matter – capturing the blend of manic energy and total commitment to the film’s magnificently relentless stupidity that Samberg brings to the role. The result was a comedy like no other.įantastic though its entire cast may be, Hot Rod is Andy Samberg’s triumph. With Akiva Schaffer directing, Andy Samberg cast in the lead role, and Jorma Taccone as Rod’s half-brother Kevin, the trio set about rewriting the script to reflect their own inimitable style. Scripted by Pam Brady ( Team America: World Police) and originally intended for Will Ferrell, Hot Rod ended up in the hands of The Lonely Island, who’d been making a name for themselves with their ground-breaking Digital Shorts on Saturday Night Live. It’s difficult for those of us who love this brilliant, bonkers film to fathom why it was so poorly received at the time. ![]() Since its release in 2007, Hot Rod’s gradually attained the well-deserved cult classic status that was denied it back then. There’s only one problem: Rod’s never actually managed to perform a stunt successfully. This is his chance to prove himself as a man, gain Frank’s respect, and win the heart of his next-door neighbour, Denise. Rod’s been mocked and bullied by his stepdad for a long time. Far more importantly, he’ll also be able to kick Frank’s ass. If he can jump fifteen buses on his motorbike – that’s one more than Evel Knievel you can check, online – and raise the $50,000 required for his stepdad Frank’s life-saving surgery, he’ll be acclaimed as a hero. Stuntman extraordinaire Rod Kimble is about to face the challenge of his life.
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