http://www.criticsrant.com/archive/2007/08/06/Hot-Rod--Nailing-the-Landing.aspx 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. en-US Critics Rant info@criticsrant.com Subtext Version 1.9.4.0 http://www.criticsrant.com/images/default_gravatar_bullhorn.png http://www.criticsrant.com/archive/2007/08/06/Hot-Rod--Nailing-the-Landing.aspx 77 60