Hit and Run

Fast cars and comedy have never really gone hand in hand. Movies such as the "Fast and Furious" franchise have always been about the cars, with the jokes mostly sticking to characters digging at each other and one-liners. "Hit and Run," on the other hand, is all about the humor — with a side of car porn.

"Hit and Run" serves predominantly as a showcase for the comedic style of its creator, actor Dax Shepard. Shepard's filmmaking debut, "Brother's Justice," which he also co-directed with partner David Palmer in 2010, went silently, but here he's convinced his fiancée, Kristen Bell, to co-star and snagged another A-lister in Bradley Cooper to elevate the film's profile.

The humor in "Hit and Run" can best be described as awkward. It's a lot like "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" in the way it constantly steps back to let the characters verbally break down the event, action or tension that just happened or is happening on screen, only Shepard is less concerned with social taboos and all the characters of "Hit and Run" are a little mentally off in one way or another outside of the central couple.

Shepard plays Charlie Bronson, only that's not his real name. He lives somewhere in hard-to- find California because he's in Witness Protection after testifying against some bank robbers a few years back. Since then he's started a new life and a serious romance with Annie (Bell), who doesn't know much about his past. When Annie gets an incredible and nearly shoo-in dream job opportunity in Los Angeles — the city Charlie must specifically stay away from — he decides to risk taking her there.

Setting it all in motion is a small contrivance: Annie needs to bring her teaching certificate, which she left in a photo album at her ex-boyfriend, Gil's (Michael Rosenbaum), house. Gil is still obsessed with Annie and convinced Charlie's a rapist of some kind because of his shrouded past. Ultimately, he discovers Charlie's real identity and in hopes of getting Annie back, contacts the very people Charlie must hide from, including Alexander Dmitri, a dreadlocked Cooper with an attitude problem.

It takes some time for all this to build, during which we're treated to a lot of weirdness. Tom Arnold plays Randy, the incompetent U.S. marshal assigned to protect Charlie who must then take off after him when he leaves town, and to call him a klutz would be a gross understatement. He's a running punch line in the film, which is fitting because Arnold is sort of a running punch line, but as you're waiting for the tension to ratchet up in the movie, he's frustratingly flattening it.

The slow first half of the film will immediately disappoint anyone looking for something high octane with lots of speeding cars and action. There's plenty of spinning out, chasing and wrecks, plus peeks under the hood for bona fide car nerds, but this isn't an action movie.

Eventually, Shepard's style finds its groove in the chaos of Randy, Gil and Charlie's old gang chasing after him. The characters arguing over trivialities, namely calling each other out on the dumb (and typically violent) stuff they do, works better in contrast with tension and suspense because it becomes less predictable. Before the story really gets going, the humor feels forced and anecdotal because we're just waiting for Alexander to find out about Charlie and go after him. The script in this sense could've used a veteran writer's assistance to help the plot hit the ground running.

Admirably, the core of the story is way these events test the romance between Charlie and Annie. Shepard and Bell's real-life chemistry is apparent on screen and the slow beginning includes plenty of legwork to make them people you want to root for. When Annie finally learns exactly who Charlie was and freaks out over it, the two have a very legitimate and believable argument and we yearn for that problem to be resolved, even if the other characters and elements of the film are too borderline psychotic for things to end up any way but happy or in complete ruin.

With the number of oddball supporting characters, random violence, car porn and plenty of meta-talk about relationships, the overall tone of "Hit and Run" is ironic. The soundtrack is probably the best example, as it includes Lou Rawls' recording of "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" during a car chase sequence, and the film ends with "Let My Love Open the Door," which has no place in a film unless you're trying to be cheesy on purpose.

"Hit and Run" could be a stepping stone to something bigger and better from Shepard, who might find more success if he took his brand to television or simply found a way to keep the energy up in future films so that the jokes will hit harder. In the meantime, "Hit and Run" avoids being total late-August junk, even if most will discover it down the road as a surprisingly decent rental.

~Steven C

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I enjoyed this film. Not just because I am a fan of Kristen Bell, though that is part of it. I often like quirky films, and this film has plenty of quirk, thanks to writer and co-director Dax Shepard, who was Kristen's boyfriend during filming, now her husband.

Hit & Run is an action comedy. Look at the poster for the movie, with the small photos of the actors and the huge image of a car. That is a clue. Expect lots of cars and car chases, mixed with humor. Think Smoky & The Bandit.

One reviewer panned the film because, he said, it's "PC". On the contrary, some viewers may not enjoy the film because Shephard's sense of humor is very non-PC, riffing on some subjects that may make some uncomfortable. Me, I found it funny.

A great cast contributes to the chicanery, including Bradley Cooper and Kristen Chenoweth. Tom Arnold plays a U.S. Marshall who is an accident waiting to happen--and the wait is very short. I found his performance to be distracting.

Eventually, most of the cast participates in a multi-car chase that--you can tell-was choreographed by a real car lover. Motorheads will appreciate that aspect of the film.

I will score this film a modest "6" and hope that Shephard writes another script that is just as big on quirk, but maybe a little more focused.

Clearly a labor of love for Dax Shepard (he stars, writes, co-directs and co-edits; and it's filmed in the more expensive 2:40 aspect ratio), Hit And Run is better than it has to be. This isn't to say it's a great entertainment (it has plenty of filler and Shepard's ambitious attempts at character development, a la Tarentino, don't quite pan out) but it is often fun to watch and the cars--and the chases--are cool. While too much time is spent on drawn-out arguments between Shepard and his significant other (in the film and, apparently, in real life, played by Kristen Bell) and there's some negative dialogue regarding homosexuality and race (note to Shepard: acknowledging homophobia and racism in the dialogue doesn't simply make it permissible) it's not a bad way to kill a couple of hours. Shepard must be a really popular guy in Hollywood because a lot of the performers (high among them Bradley Cooper) would not normally appear in a movie this B-grade.

I don't often write reviews so I'll keep this short. I watched this expecting nothing more than something to waste a couple of hours.It ended up being a real fun couple of hours though. Clever script work..great character chemistry & fantastic musical score.I watched this with my wife who is very hard to please and she was also pleasantly surprised. I'm not saying this should win any awards but I am saying for those of you who don't take every film you watch too seriously .. it's a pretty cool little movie . Dax Shepard should give himself a pat on the back for this.For a movie with a small budget it manages to assemble a great cast and give more bang for your buck than many big studios deliver.

This film is about a woman who has to go to Los Angeles for an interview. She runs into all sorts of trouble along the drive by her boyfriend.

"Hit and Run" is a comedy that combines comedy, some action and lots of cars. The prevailing mood of the film is very lighthearted, and the on screen couple is convincing. I can see how Charlie really cares for Annie with his dedication to taking Annie to her job interview. The incompetent cop is funny, and Bradley Cooper's thug character is funny as well. I am impressed by how, in the middle of all the mess, the directors still manage to throw in subplots about anti-homophobia and political correctness. I am also impressed by how many gay subplots get mingled in a movie with cool car swerves. "Hit and Run" is a comedy that is relatively different compared with the rest.