Its been quite a while since I’ve hated a movie as much as Hot Rod. I don’t know if its because my movie selection is getting better or I’ve just been extremely lucky, but it seems my luck has run dry.
After seeing the preview for Hot Rod a few weeks ago and laughing hysterically in my chair, I decided it would be one of the few comedies I check out in theatres. I don’t usually have much faith in seeing comedies at the cinema since they’re usually very hit and miss but Hot Rod somehow lured me in. Kind of like how McDonald’s reels you in and then 20 years later you weigh 300lbs and you’re having a heart attack. In comparison, I’d take obesity and a coronary bypass over ever seeing this movie again.
My date for the evening, who was equally excited to see the film, assured me many of her friends had seen the movie and said it was hilarious. Needless to say, I’m currently in the process of tracking down and killing these people for they shouldn’t be allowed to interact with the public.
The entire movie, is about a lackluster stunt man trying to perform a grand stunt to save his dying stepfather just so he can punch him in the face to prove he’s a man. (i’m serious, that’s the actual plot line)
Throughout the entire movie, you never know if Rod is an older man playing a teenager, or just an old man being ridiculous. You never know exactly what era its set in, but by the music it seems like the 80s, but the clothes don’t signify anything except awful judgment in fashion. And though Rod’s love story makes absolute no attempts at making sense, Isla Fisher was my only enjoyment throughout the entire movie so I’ve dismissed any bad points about her character.
From the first 15min into the movie I recall thinking, “I hope that wasn’t supposed to be funny” and it got progressively worse from there. There were a few moments of laughter though; one point specifically shows Rod falling down an seemingly never ending hillside starting in the evening and finishing at dawn. That was the only scene I remember laughing with and not at the movie.
My next point may seem sexiest – mainly because it is – but stay with me for a moment. After the first few torturous scenes, the credits started rolling and I immediately noticed the movie was written solely by a woman. Its from then I knew I was in for a long long ride. My reasoning is that the entire movie is centered on Rod and his 3 man team. I think it takes a very talented woman to write for 4 men on screen and not turn them into women at some point. The screenwriter Pam Brady is NOT that woman. You see the characters repeatedly cry for no real reason, the stepbrother is about as feminine as can be and the dialogue to me, seems like it was written by a woman who has never really had any male friends, or perhaps never even had any contact with males in her entire life.
My obvious distaste for female comedians, or female comedy writers makes my love for Tina Fey that much stronger. Anyone who hasn’t seen Mean Girls yet should run out and rent it. That is definitely a movie that shows how a very simple plot line can be smart, funny and enjoyable just because the writer knows what she’s doing. Plus, that the film is centered around 3 highschool girls.
So if you’re thinking about going to see Hot Rod, I strongly advise choosing to do something else with your time and money. However, if you are as eager to see it as I was, at least come back and let me know what you thought of it. I need to understand what kind of people find that movie funny and why it was even released in the first place, because I’m lost for answers.
So if I were to put this movie on a scale from 1 to Terrible, I would have to give it a rating of TERRIBLE.