Hit and Run

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.

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.

If I really paid attention to some stuffy movie critics I'd probably never see another movie in my life. Reviews riddled with technical jargon like screenplay this, and protagonist that bore me immensely when I just want to know, "will I regret paying $6-12 for the movie?".

With that being said let me tell you where I am coming from, the perspective of a good ole regular 30 year old black lady who watches more television then they should, and enjoys going to the movies at noon because at that time I don't have to worry about some jack ass propping their feet on the back of my chair. (and I can lay down across 3 seats).

Now to the task at hand, what did I think about Hit & Run? I thought is was a good movie, I was entertained and did not regret purchasing the movie ticket.

OK, Whats the Movie About?

Charlie is a self-named member of the witness protection program, hiding out in a small rural town where he enjoys a simple life of love, and days spent worrying over his buffoonish handler, Randy (Tom Arnold). Charlie's happy world begins to crack when Annie is offered a job developing her own curriculum at a university in Los Angeles – the home of Charlie's criminal past, and a lot of bad people who want to get even with him.

Trying to prove his love, Charlie dusts off his bad boy muscle car and scoops Annie for a high-speed run to her LA job interview. But when Annie's jealous ex-boyfriend Gil (Michael Rosenbaum) tries to undermine the happy exodus, he unwittingly brings down all the wrong kind of heat on the situation. Before long, Charlie and Annie's road trip is a high-speed chase, complete with shootouts, buried treasure, and…a dune buggy.

Dax Shepard is funny to me, and so is Kristen Bell. The fact that Dax and Kristen are a couple made their characters Charlie and Annie in the movie have a charming chemistry that you can only get by smashing (having sex) in real life.

Being a lover of classic cars just seeing that classic Lincoln rev around spoke to my soul.

Dax wore rugged, outlaw, bad-ass with a gentle side, pretty well. So well that he transcended from this lanky quirky white guy, to "hey, how you doin". Also, This movie just made it official that it's impossible for Bradley Cooper to be unattractive, even with a dredlock wig, and some played out Oakley's, we was still looking' good.

Yada yada yada yada...blah blah blah blah.... I like the movie.

While shopping at my local Best Buy, I saw a copy of Hit and Run sitting on the shelf and I just decided to give it a try. I had nothing to lose and nothing to really fear. I figured it would be a light comedy with a lot of action to hold my attention for a good 90 minutes. I came home, pressed play, and watched it.

I don't really know how I feel about it.

Its not a bad movie, per se. I certainly didn't have a bad time. I was just puzzled at what I had just watched. Its a gooey rom-com with a few intense car chase sequences, peppered with raunchy dialog. Just... so weird! I'll give credit to Dax Shepard for making a totally original slant on an otherwise overdone plot line.

But then, once you get past the plot, it gets weirder. The acting, for the most part, is decent. But sometimes, it gets downright terrible. Take for instance, Tom Arnold. He literally shouts his entire dialog and spends most of the movie running wildly around screen with a gun in his hand. Why? I have no idea. Were they going for absurdist humor with that character? or was Tom Arnold just coked up? Whatever the reason, I grew to hate his character... a lot.

Then, literally, for no reason whatsoever, we get two scenes involving the main characters stumbling into an elderly orgy. What on god's green earth was that all about? Its as if the movie was spliced together with outtakes from a Sacha Baron Cohen movie, and they figured it would be so shocking, that it just had to be in the movie for a good laugh. It just sat there, dead on screen, in its wrinkly birthday suit. I didn't laugh.

Alright, enough with the questions. Lets get down to business. I thought the movie potentially worked and I did laugh more times than I ever thought I would. There is some really funny stuff in here, and its worth checking out to catch them all. I liked Dax Shepard, considering that he was channeling an Owen Wilson type performance. Kristen Bell is always a pleasure to watch watch on screen. We also get a delightfully bizarre performance from Bradley Cooper that entertained me a whole lot. Especially the scene at the supermarket... what an absolutely fantastic scene that was.

All in all, Hit and Run is hit and miss, and definitely surreal at times. But not a bad outing at the movies.