Hot Rod

Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg refer to themselves as The Dudes. They have a website (thelonelyisland.com) full of short films that range in quality from gut-busting to earth-shatteringly funny (if you don’t mind genital humor, you must view their “Bing Bong Bros.” music video immediately). The content of the website got The Dudes a gig on Saturday Night Live; Jorma and Akiva work behind the scenes while Andy (for no other logical reason than his name is the easiest to pronounce) was chosen as a cast member. The Dudes have brought their online aesthetic to the show with their “SNL Digital Short” series which has brought the show its most memorable moments in years (i.e. getting Justin Timberlake to sing about wrapping his manhood up as a holiday gift). In a bit of odd symmetry, the television work The Dudes have produced has found its way back onto their old format, the internet, and is endlessly downloaded, e-mailed, and blogged upon.

Hot Rod, their feature film debut (Samberg and Taccone star, Shaffer directs), is the story of Rod Kimble and his gang of friends who, instead of growing up and selling out like everyone else, have kept their dream of being a stunt team alive well into their twenties. With this movie, The Dudes have done what many of us wish we could; they have rewritten their 1980s suburban childhood to include awesome montages and a killer heavy metal soundtrack. In the Hot Rod universe a love of Kawasaki bikes and martial arts learned Mr. Miyagi style will get you the girl and the respect you always knew you deserved. Unlike some movies that attempt at nostalgia by simply presenting the iconography of the past, Hot Rod captures the feeling of a time when kids did tricks on their bikes for glory; not to end up on YouTube or qualify for the X Games.

The comedic skills The Dudes honed with their short films are on fine display here. Their sense of exact timing, which is vital in a thirty second sketch, fills this movie with dozens of near perfect moments. Each of the most successful scenes can almost be viewed as a short film in itself. In an era where improvisation tends to run comedies way off track (think about the hilarious but borderline unintelligable Anchorman) it is nice to see pace and cadence take precedence. Only at one point (when Rod’s mechanic buddy Dave describes an acid induced massive head wound) does it feel like the movie veers too far out of its way for a (decent sized) laugh. For the most part the story composition and editing keep the film moving at an enjoyable speed.
It must be noted that the humor does cater towards people who grew up during the Reagan presidency with a love for movies like Rad. For those of you outside this group, there is still enough to be enjoyed in Hot Rod, though it may not cause your heart to swell with emotion like it did for some of us.