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Hot Rod
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 Sweet-natured, occasionally surreal comedy about an aimless youth (Andy Samberg of "Saturday Night Live") who aspires to be a professional stuntman and wants nothing more than to raise enough money so his abusive stepfather can have a heart transplant -- so he can beat him up. Director Akiva Schaffer (also of "Saturday Night Live") and screenwriter Pam Brady (lately of "South Park") adorn this flimsy plot with pop-culture references and dark satire, but unless you find every twitch and utterance of Samberg screamingly funny you're likely to miss some of the humor. Much cartoonish and bloodless violence, all played for laughs, and some coarse and crass language. A-II -- adults and adolescents. (PG-13) 2007
"Hot Rod" (Paramount) is a sweet-natured, occasionally surreal comedy about aimless youth Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg of "Saturday Night Live"), who aspires to be a professional stuntman and wants nothing more than to raise enough money so his abusive stepfather, Frank (Ian McShane), can have a heart transplant and be well enough for Rod to beat him up. (Yes, you got that right.)
But this flimsy plot is not the point. Director Akiva Schaffer (also of "SNL") and screenwriter Pam Brady (lately of "South Park") adorn the film with pop-culture references, dark satire and riffs on rock videos, offering a light buffet in lieu of a full meal. In this they succeed, but unless you find every twitch and utterance of the rubber-faced Samberg screamingly funny you're likely to be mystified.
Kimble, who presumably has graduated from high school but has no job and no real goals, lives in a soulless suburban wasteland with his mother, Marie (Sissy Spacek), Frank, half-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone) and devoted, dweebish friends Dave (the deadpan Bill Hader) and Rico (Danny McBride). In the belief that his late father was a stuntman pal of Evel Knievel, Kimble attempts many unsuccessful escapades with his moped, oblivious that he's become the town joke.
He comes to know the truth about his father, but Kimble is nonetheless determined to raise the money with an attempted jump over 15 buses, just so he can restore his stepfather to fighting shape. The funniest sequences -- as one would expect from Samberg, who has made his reputation with parody videos on "SNL" -- involve quick, hilarious spoofs of rock videos, and while Kimble is in "training," even an obscure reference to the deservedly forgotten action film "Gymkata."
The most rewarding satire involves Chris Parnell as Barry Pasternak, an AM-radio disc jockey determined to bring AM radio back by broadcasting Kimble's big jump. Isla Fisher is Denise, Rod's love interest, but has little to do except to show up and cheer him on.
The film contains much cartoonish and bloodless violence, all played for laughs, and some coarse and crass language. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-II -- adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.
The following movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic
merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating,
the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief
synopsis of the movie.
The classifications are as follows:
- A-I -- general patronage;
- A-II -- adults and adolescents;
- A-III -- adults;
- A-IV**
- L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
- O -- morally offensive.
** Discontinued classification. All archived movies that were originally in the A-IV category are now classified as L.
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