This movie is a vehicle for trio of The Lonely Island music group, who parodies RnB music and popular songs by putting blatantly vulgar lyrics and themes to their music. That said, the trio have successfully (as they have in their music) put together a humorous tale of courage, commmitment, and captured the true art of downright randomness.
"Hot Rod" is essentially a tale about a young man (we never learn his age but we can assume he is in his early 20s) who dreams of being a successful stuntman. The flaw in his character is that he is not. He attempts impossible mad jumps on his mo-ped, ill-timed explosions and very poorly organised Houdini escape tricks. Rod (played flamboyantly by Andy Samberg of SNL fame) is the hero. What's brilliant about his character is that, as the hero, he has a goal, a desire, a dream. As the viewer we are supposed to want to see our hero succeed, but at the same time we love it when he fails at his stunts because it's funny. The beautiful thing about Rod is that no matter how hard things get, no matter how many times he is ridiculed and hurt, he still gets back up and it makes him even more determined to succeed.
The plot for the movie is fairly straightforward: Rod is trying to succeed as a stuntman, but he sucks. He then realises his step-father (Ian MacShane) needs a heart-transplant. He then makes it his mission to raise the money needed. Rod, along with his inept team of Rico (Danny McBride), Dave (Bill Hader) and his brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone), set out to raise the money needed to form one incredible stunt, "the biggest the world has ever seen". Of course, there is the typical 'girl-next-door- character (played by Isla Fisher) who Rod longs after. She, of course, likes him but is dating a real jerk of a guy (Will Arnet). The story is predictable and formulaic, but the charm of this movie is not in the story, but in the way it's told, and the small things that comprise it.
The music sets the backdrop and adds a comedic touch to the film. It plays up boldly as Rod attempts big stunts, then cuts out, only for the audience to see Rod suffering on the ground after failing it. The music borrows from such 80s acts as Foreigner and Survivor, almost to the point where we wonder "is this an 80s picture, or a 2000s picture?". But that only serves to make it more humorous. We aren't exactly told the era or the characters' ages, we have to make assumptions. The film is also littered with very random humour that appears to have no correlation to the plot. Some sccenes are really over-the-top, but one scene really sticks out: I don't want to spoil it, but when Rod goes to his "quiet place" in the woods and "fist punches out his rage". This scene was well made, and cleverly edited with the sole purpose of making the audience laugh as hard as possible.
The cast is great in this movie, but the real stand out is Ian McShane, who plays Rod's step-father. His character is well-written, original, and well-rounded. He cares for Rod and his family, but in the way he acts sometimes you wouldn't believe it. Sissy Spacek also makes an appearance in the film as the mother.
Overall, if you're looking for something light-hearted and full of laughs, then "Hot Rod" is for you. I think it's a very good comedy. But what makes it good is that the character of Rod is meant to appeal to our youthful side: here is a guy who is an adult, he's grown up, yet he still hasn't given up on his dreams. He keeps getting up on that bike, keeps trying to jump through fire, knowing at the back of his mind that he probably will fail, but he's going to do it anyway. We laugh when he gets hurt because all of us have gotten hurt in our lives. But we must, as Rod does, get back up on that bike and try again. He reminds us that life is short. Stunt it.
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