Let me be straight up with you: for the first thirty minutes or so of Hot Rod I sat there, scratching my head, wondering what in the world I was watching. I was pretty sure this was one of the worst movies I’d ever seen. A funny thing happened, though. Using some sort of dark ninja arts, this film managed to sneak up on my funny bone and by the end I was practically rolling in the aisle, wiping tears from my eyes I was laughing so hard. I won’t guarantee that everyone will react this way, but if you like quirky, offbeat, humor then you stand at least a chance.

The hero of Hot Rod is amateur stuntman Rod Kimble who, along with his “crew”—step-brother Kevin, and friends Dave and Rico—performs stunts that normally involve attempts to jump his moped over things like a mail van or the local pool. That is, when he’s not involved in knock-down, drag-out brawls with his step-father Frank. Rod is convinced that Frank will never respect him as a man until he can beat him in a fair, or not so fair, fight.

Rod may never get that chance though, because Frank is ill and insurance won’t pay for the operation he needs. Rod sees his chance to win approval in Frank’s eyes by raising the money through performing stunts, by producing and showing a documentary movie about his stunts, and finally by pursuing an ambitious plan to jump fifteen buses.

Rod and Kevin are played by Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, and along with director Akiva Schaffer the three are the founders of sketch comedy group The Lonely Island. Their specialty to date has been shorts and parodies. All three currently work for Saturday Night Live where they are responsible for the SNL Digital Shorts, among other things. Hot Rod is their first feature-length film and their background in short features shows in the overall style and tone of the movie.

In many ways, Hot Rod is a related series of comedic bits with common characters and a connecting storyline. Things you never expect are constantly coming out of left field; even the visual look of the film leaves you wondering when and where it’s meant to be set. It struck me that this movie could almost be considered a feature-length YouTube video, with better production values. There is a complexity to the humor that goes far beyond that normally found in your typical buddy comedy. I had to think about this one for several days before I could even be sure what my own opinion was.

In the end I had to conclude that there is indeed a kind of comedy genius at work here. The team behind Hot Rod is clearly trying to push the envelope on this kind of humor, and with the right sense of humor; I think it winds up working. I’m positive this movie will find an audience and probably become a cult classic; the only question in my mind is: will it work for a more mainstream movie viewer? Only time will tell.

Hot Rod is rated PG-13 for “crude humor, language, some comic drug-related and violent content.” Many of Rod’s stunts go awry with painful results, the battles between Rod and step-father Frank pull no punches, and some of the language may be offensive. I’d say the rating is accurate—probably not a good movie for younger children.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Michael attended a promotional screening of Hot Rod.