![]() ![]() And then there’s Hot Rod, in which he crops up in Rod’s (Samberg) basement in short shorts blasting Ennio Morricone and wielding a kendo fighting stick. Since Deadwood he’s more often the terrifying villain than the romantic hero, a career shift that certainly plays to his strengths. His days as a pin-up may be behind him, but he’s still rolling with the same icy baby blues and rough-n-ready attitude. Her unassuming sense of chill soothes over the rougher edges of Hot Rod ’s zany antics – Spacek revealing the unfortunate truth behind her former husband’s death is sidesplittingly blasé – and it balances perfectly with what her on-screen husband is bringing to the party. She’s just your average mum, sewing her adult son a cape and helping him find his fighting kneepads. On one hand, you’ve got Sissy Spacek playing it completely straight. The best teen comedies have the best parents – Easy A, 10 Things I Hate About You, Mean Girls, American Pie – and Hot Rod is no exception. Then there are those of us who remember him for one thing, and one thing only: slapping the shit out of Andy Samberg. New Shaniacs ™ know him best from Game of Thrones or John Wick, while our older members think fondly of his unsurprisingly brooding Heathcliff. Ian McShane has been chewing scenery wherever he can find it on both sides of the pond for over 55 years now, and we all have our favourite incarnation. You know him, you fear him, you can’t resist his wild eyes – Ian McShane has us all in the palm of his hand, and we love it. He’s Lancashire’s greatest export since the Jelly Baby. He’s interesting and himself and that counts for something.He’s Al Swearengen. Rod’s girl-next-door crush, Denise (Isla Fisher), sums up the beauty of his character in one line when she professes “you’ve always done exactly what you wanted to do.” He’s the antithesis of all the jerks in the world who grow up and get stodgy. His mere tenacity makes him great, and, despite warnings from his stepfather to “never sneak up on a man who’s been in a chemical fire,” he continuously comes back for more. But he’s still our hero, and he’s still his own hero. Like Max Fischer before him, he’s weird, overly confident, and a loser. The character of Rod Kimble is a great example of the extraordinarily likable unlikeable guy. In a time in which everything is so immediate and movies can be made with little money and time, it’s almost ironic that a bunch of goons with a couple YouTube hits and one or two SNL credits to their names would care so deeply when making a film. In retrospect, Hot Rod is a unique piece. Also, unlike the massive wave of Apatow films that popped up around the same time, Hot Rod does not care to resemble the struggles of reality. ![]() Yes, it’s been done before, but Hot Rod retains its own version throughout. Ian McShane’s portrayal of Frank is effortless, and he and fellow veteran Sissy Spacek, who plays Rod’s mom, make the movie’s absurd tone work by playing their parts so seriously. As Frank is, indeed, his step dad, Rod explains to his stepbrother, Kevin (Jorma Taccone), he has to “earn it.” Rod’s relentless motivation and determination to save a stepfather who only abuses him is fueled by two things: his desire to be like his late biological father, whom he knows to be a legendary stunt hero, as well as his boiling need to beat Frank in a fight and, thus, win his respect. It should be noted that “hard-ass” refers to a man who spends his days in the basement practicing lethal fighting techniques that are undoubtedly used to beat up his stepson. The film opens with our hero, Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg), an amateur stuntman looking to save his hard-ass stepfather, Frank (Ian McShane), who’s dying of a heart condition, by jumping fifteen school buses and using the funds raised to pay for the ill old man’s $50,000 surgery. SNL creator Lorne Michaels thought that was a good idea, so he gave the them total creative control. After success on YouTube and then SNL (because of YouTube), the troupe, featuring Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, decided to make a movie. Hot Rod, released ten years ago, embodies the Lonely Island’s emergence into mainstream comedy and, even more so, the dawn of a new generation’s sense of humor. ![]()
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