Hot Rod (DVD)

Judging by its box office returns, I find it safe to say that most of you have not seen Hot Rod. Having just become part of the minority that has seen it, I don't think I can do much to make you cross over, while I cannot exactly dissuade you either.

Starring Andy Samberg of "SNL Digital Shorts" fame, Hot Rod is by no means a failure. It is a surprisingly competent, albeit formulaic, comedy that, in the absence of many truly hilarious moments, provides plenty of chuckles. It may not be the best comedy of the year, but it is far from being the worst. In fact, the only thing I can is wrong with Hot Rod is that it doesn't try anything. You've no doubt seen countless variations of this post-Napoleon Dynamite style of surreal humor before, and while Hot Rod is nowhere near as grating, the material, with little substance to back it up, wears thin by the end.

The primary factor in determining your enjoyment of Hot Rod comes from your level of tolerance for Andy Samberg. Samberg, primarily known for his silly music videos on SNL (which, since Flight of the Conchords, are becoming increasingly irrelevant) is a comedian who can come across as either joyously goofy, or smugly dumb. I tend to align with the latter camp, which greatly impacted my perception of the movie. I may find Samberg funny in small doses, but whenever he happens to be around for more than two minutes, it becomes quite clear that he always resorts to the same crap.

The majority of the laughs come from the supporting cast, especially Bill Hader, who I believe, based off of his fantastic performances in both Hot Rod and Superbad, is the SNL player most deserving of a breakthrough success. Will Arnett and Ian McShane also steal their scenes, managing to inject at least some sparks of creativity into this cookie-cutter movie. Isla Fisher is nice to look at, and the rest of the cast is solid, but with few other standouts.

In case you were wondering about special features, don't bother. They're all negligible. There are no redeeming factors about either the commentary or the behind the scenes feature, and the deleted scenes and outtakes are absolutely pointless. These features are to be skipped by all but the most rabid Hot Rod fans.

Overall, I would mildly recommend Hot Rod. It is not an incredibly original film, but it could make for a fairly entertaining rental. As long as you do not expect to laugh as hysterically as you might from some of this year's truly great comedies (Hot Fuzz, Superbad…), you should leave this movie satisfied, and probably more than a little forgetful.