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Why Hot Rod Is One Of The Most Underappreciated Comedies Of All Time

A while back on this lovely site, I wrote about how Shoot 'Em Up was one of the most misunderstood action movies of the last twenty years. If you read the thread of comments below that piece, you will see the article brought two types of people out. The people who adored the film, and the people who hated it. But either way, they came. The piece took on legs of its own, and within six months, I was talking casually to Shoot 'Em Up's writer/director Michael Davis, who thanked me for writing it. It was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had as a writer, and one I am hoping to duplicate again by talking up Hot Rod.

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I feel like the people who do not like the Andy Samberg man-child bit should understand that he WAS younger here. He kinda was in that man-child phase in this film, so it is not like he plays a grown man jumping around, acting like a kid. It is like a young man, jumping around, acting like a kid. See, that’s not as bad. But I won’t lie to you, it works. Hell, even the lovely Isla Fisher as his love interest works, even though we all know better. I mean, just look at the scene where he awkwardly tries to introduce her to his friends:

Somehow, like a stew full of things that should taste awful yet ending up tasting like heaven, maybe Hot Rod does not make sense. You look at it, and think it should just be this messy smorgasbord of things that would not sync up. But rather, it ends up being a perfect storm of hilarity.

The casting is brilliant, the physical comedy is the likes of which we just do not see on film anymore and the soundtrack bounces between awesome and hilarious. Oh, and to top it all off, it has the greatest training montage of any movie I have ever seen in my life:

So, do yourselves a favor, dip over to Netflix and peep Hot Rod right now. It is about as good as mindless comedy gets. On top of that, it plays out like a blueprint for how some of your favorite comedians and actors would portray themselves in the years following the movie’s release. Cool beans?

Cool beans!