By Kevin McCarthy

With THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM dominating the box office this weekend, some of you may not have noticed that another comedy debuted this weekend.  The Lonely Island guys shot this movie in between the last two SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE seasons from a script by Pam Brady (SOUTH PARK).  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, however, to realize that they did substantial rewrites here as the finished product is infused with their particular brand of absurdist and nonsensical humor. 

The result, directed by Islander Akiva Shaffer, is HOT ROD, a small but entertaining comedy that will remind a lot of people of ANCHORMAN and TALLADEGA NIGHTS.  In fact, the story – about a loser (Andy Samberg) trying to follow in the footsteps of his dead stuntman father to earn the respect of his stepdad (Ian McShane) while trying to win over the girl next door (Isla Fisher) – was originally written with Will Ferrell in mind.   And while the premise is not all that original, the movie as a whole is a lot of fun.

Samberg does his best Ricky Bobby impression as Rod Kimble, the lovable loser who’s noticeably too old to be in a jumpsuit and cape making movies on his moped.  He lives at home and spends most of his time planning stunts with his stepbrother Kevin, mechanic Dave (Bill Hader) and ramp-builder Rico (Danny R. McBride). When his abusive stepfather needs a $50,000 heart transplant, Rod decides to raise money by staging the biggest stunt of his life – outrageously so – by jumping 15 school buses (beating Evel Knievel’s record by one)… and then kicking his stepfather’s ass. 

Isla Fisher as the love interest is adorable and Will Arnett playing the purposefully clichéd jerky boyfriend can do no wrong in my book.  The filmmakers do a fairly good job of adhering to plot throughout despite the insertion of several extended gags and non sequiturs.  And it really works.  HOT ROD has a charm that will carry over to DVD where it’ll earn its place among great quirky comedies like SUPER TROOPERS and RED HOT AMERICAN SUMMER.  It’s far too early to be placing Samberg alongside comedic kingpin Will Ferrell, but this is a definite victory for “The Lonely Island”. 

HOT ROD is the type of comedy that people want to say they knew about before it was a cult classic.  Unfortunately, I was one of seven people in the theater Sunday afternoon (Yes, I couldn’t even get anyone to go with me).  And if I’m the only person there tomorrow night when I catch it again, so be it.  The movie is layered with jokes that will really benefit from repeat viewings. 

I suggest you go out and enjoy them now because I worry in 18 months guys with leather bracelets and tight polos on will be quoting HOT ROD lines into extinction.  This is a small project that doesn’t aspire to be included in Great Comedy canon and I really appreciated the film for being content with what it was.  You’re not going to get the spectacle or the cameos of a Frat Pack movie, but you’ll probably enjoy this movie just as much.  You’re not going to get a wholly original story, but it’s a formula that has turned up great results in the past few years. 

And really, don’t be scared off by Lorne Michaels producing another movie for his SNL cast members.  THE LADIES MAN this is not.  My only regret was that I didn’t catch HOT ROD in a crowded theater.  It’s a legitimate crowd-pleaser that charmingly avoids sentiment to the very last frame.  So rally a group together and see this before it makes an early exit from theaters.