Hot Rod
Dir: Akiva Schaffer
2007
****
Hot Rod was a very pleasant surprise. It's been a while since I've actually laughed out loud at a film. I noticed in the opening credits that it was produced by Will Ferrell and immediately I felt my heart sink, but although it feels like it should be one of his films and leading man Samburg has obviously been 'Inspired' by him, it's far funnier than anything he's ever done in my opinion and I'm so glad he's not actually in it. Ferrell is a selfish comedian, so in his absence everyone is given a fair crack of the comedy whip. Hot Rod's greatest achievement, and a big reason why it works so well, is it's brilliant direction. Some of the scenes are almost John Ford-esque! (and a little Sergio Leone-ish). It's surreal editing is also very brave but brilliantly done. The 'Cool Beans' scene was surreal, unexpected and all the more funny for it, as well as being one of the funniest and bravest scenes in recent history. A cross between Napoleon Dynamite and a really good version of Ricky Bobby (if you can imagine such a thing), a real below the radar comedy gem.