It seems like Paramount has been releasing Blu-ray titles by the boatload over the last few months. As an enthusiastic adapter of the high-definition technology, most of the time I’m more than happy to embrace any new title that comes across my desk; however, that doesn’t mean that I’m not befuddled by the order of some of the new arrivals. In late December 2008, Paramount released Hot Rod on Blu-ray, while we are left waiting for classics like Sunset Boulevard, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Apocalypse Now, and other bonafide classics to be released in high-definition.
If Hot Rod doesn’t ring a bell don’t feel bad. Released in August of 2007, the film left American theaters after only forty-eight days, having grossed only $13.8 million in its entire run. Hot Rod can be considered another box office failure in a long line of films starring cast members of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Originally conceived as a vehicle for Will Ferrell (he is credited as executive producer), the film stars current and former SNL cast members Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader, and Chris Parnell.
The movie stars Andy Samberg as Rod Kimble, a would-be amateur stuntman; thus, the movie’s title. Rod’s father was a stuntman who, according to Rod’s mother (Sissy Spacek), died in a horrible accident during one of his many feats. Rod tells us “He died instantly…the next day.” Now, Rod wears a fake mustache in tribute to the one his father wore and does stunts in his father’s honor. Unfortunately, Rod’s attempts at amateur Evel Knievel maneuvers always backfire. He tries to jump over a swimming pool on his bike and fails, over a truck and fails. Nothing original here.
Anyway, Rod’s stepfather (Ian McShane) needs a $50,000 heart transplant or he will die. In order to gain his stepfather’s respect, Rod decides to earn fifty grand by jumping fifteen buses on his motorbike. To promote his stunt and also raise funds, Rod works parties, corporate get-togethers, and other events. His idea is to raise the money so his stepfather can get better and when he does, Rod will finally be able get him back for all the times he was humiliated.
Much of the film deals with Rod’s preparation for the big jump, with the help of his crew: his half-brother Kevin (Jorma Taccone), the team’s manager and videographer; his friend Dave (Bill Hader), the team’s mechanic; his friend Rico (Danny R. McBride) who makes the ramps; and his fresh-faced neighbor Denise (Isla Fisher), the romantic interest. The only other character of interest is the requisite villain, Denise’s supercool, lawyer-jerk boyfriend, Jonathan (played by Will Arnett).
The whole story feels like it was thrown together as it was filmed. It’s entirely possible that director Akiva Schaffer a current writer and director for Saturday Night Live, allowed many of the actors to improvise scenes whenever they deemed necessary. If that was the case, it was a bad call. Several punch lines simply fall flat, and others you can see coming. While Andy Samberg can be absolutely hilarious on the short skits of Saturday Night Live, if Hot Rod is any indication, the longer format of feature films don’t fit his comedic skills very well.
Paramount uses a VC-1 codec for this BD25, 1080p, high-def Blu-ray transfer. It does a pretty good job keeping the 2.35:1 aspect ratio intact and handling the colors. The hues look bright and deep, but still reasonably natural. There is little grain to speak of; however, the video quality itself is somewhat soft, a tad blurry, and more than a bit rough around the edges. Overall, it looks pretty average as high-definition transfers go.
Paramount has provided an English audio track for the movie in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. There is one explosion that comes across with gusto, and occasionally one notices some environmental noises in the surrounds, things like cars on the road and dishes in a restaurant. Otherwise, there isn’t much to the audio, which seems a waste of lossless TrueHD. But I guess it’s good it’s there.
All of the bonus material is in standard definition (SD) unless otherwise noted. All of the bonus material from the HD-DVD is on this BD.
Feature Length Commentary by Akiva Schaffer, Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone: as you would expect, there is not much substance to the commentary, you may find it funny, you may not.
Ancestors Protect Me: Behind the Scenes of Hot Rod (7:56): So it turns out Dane Cook passed on this as Schaffer tells us, and Will Farrell passed The cast and crew really don’t talk about how the picture was made, its underlying themes or any of that usual behind the scenes nonsense. Instead, they just goof around.
Deleted and Extended Scenes (14:34): fifteen scenes with optional commentary by Schaffer, Samberg and Taccone.
Outtakes Reel (3:32): features some gags that didn’t make it in to the final picture.
Kevin’s Videos (4:23): eight different videos that were seen only partially in the finished picture.
Punch-Dance (1:58): a brief piece on punch-dancing, its origins and specific uses of the applied artistry in this picture.
Home video footage of orchestra recording session (1:28): never let any free disk space go unfilled.
Theatrical Trailer in HD.
