My Favorite Movies – Hot Rod (2007)

By Tanner Smith

I did not catch “Hot Fuzz” or Superbad in theaters in 2007, but I did see “Hot Rod” TWICE in a theater and it made me laugh out REALLY loud–so at least I was exposed to some good cinematic hilarity that year.

“Hot Rod” came out at just the right time for 15-year-old me. A few months prior, I had watched my first “SNL” episode (the one with Shia LaBeouf, the weekend “Disturbia” opened) and that was where I discovered comedians like Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Fred Armissen, and of course Andy Samberg–and I also discovered upon subsequent episodes more of what Samberg and his buddies Jorma Taccone and Akiva Shaffer, collectively called The Lonely Island, were about.

Lazy Sunday. D*ck in a Box. Roy Rules! And then I caught a trailer for something called “Hot Rod,” which starred Samberg as a would-be stuntman who crashes HARD and gets back up for me…and I just knew I HAD to see this movie!

It didn’t disappoint. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I “lol’d,” because a lot of the nuttiness I was seeing on the big screen was HILARIOUS to 15-year-old Tanner!

Nowadays, “Hot Rod” is still so damn funny, but there’s one scene in it that still makes 29-year-old Tanner laugh out really loud upon each viewing. It’s the “Footloose” homage set on a mountain that results in…well, if you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it for you.

Another scene that still makes me LOL is the riot scene, featuring the song “You’re the Voice,” by John Farnham.

How’s the rest of the film? Well, while a lot of the hilarity has worn off on me with time, the charm sure hasn’t. “Hot Rod” is surprisingly sincere and isn’t mocking the characters so often, because it likes these central characters.

Speaking of whom, the central characters of Rod (Samberg) and his crew (Jorma Taccona, Bill Hader, and Danny McBride) are all funny and (more importantly) likable. I wish Isla Fisher as the love interest had more to do than just play the typically bland love interest, because if you watch her in other movies like “Wedding Crashers” and “Definitely, Maybe,” she’s freaking hilarious–here, she’s just a pretty face. But Will Arnett as Rod’s rival for her affections is amazing here.

Samberg was already becoming one of my favorite funnymen, thanks to the SNL Digital Shorts, but upon seeing this movie initially, he cemented his status (along with Jack Black) as one of my favorite funny people in America. (The Tenderloins, aka the Impractical Jokers, now share that high ranking for me as well.)

Since this film’s release, Samberg and his fellow Lonely Island cohorts have released other gems like Jizz In My Pants and I’m On a Boat, among other classics (btw, I own all of their albums), Samberg landed a main role on the show Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he killed as a host on the Indie Spirit Awards in 2013 (I’ll never forget his monologue, which sticks it to the Hollywood system), and the Lonely Island guys are all still working together, even as producers on recent movies such as Brigsby Bear, Palm Springs, and I Used to Go Here. (When I see their logo “Lonely Island Classics” pop up in the same font & background as “Sony Pictures Classics,” I smile from ear to ear.)

I almost forgot to mention “Hot Rod” was directed by Akiva Shaffer, and he, Samberg, and Taccone had all collaborated on the screenplay after it was initially written by Pam Brady as a Will Ferrell vehicle. Shaffer and Taccone also co-directed (and co-starred in, with Samberg) the equally funny “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” nine years after “Hot Rod.” And it’s a shame that neither of these two movies were box-office hits, but it’s a blessing they were both able to find more life on home media.