Hot Rod

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Hot Rod is a 2007 comedy film starring Andy Samberg (as Rod) and Jorma Taccone (as Kevin) and directed by Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island.

Hot Rod follows the story of a wannabe stuntman following in the footsteps of his late father. Rod is desperate to win the respect and love of his mean Step-Father, Frank (Ian Mc Shane!), by defeating in him in a fight and proving himself a man. Unfortunately tragedy strikes and Frank is diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. The operation needed is too expensive, so Rod and his gang set out to raise the money by performing the greatest jump he has ever attempted to save Frank's life. And so he can finally kick his ass when he's better.

Tropes used in Hot Rod include:

"Trust me, he would have not stopped for us."

  • Kick the Dog: After Rod finally gets his stepfather to admit defeat, he throws in a Finishing Move anyways.
  • Lame Rhyme Dodge: A failed attempt by Rod when he suddenly backtracks on his brief moment of having enough nerve to compliment Denise. Instead of replacing it with something benign, he replaces it with something much worse:

Rod: "You look pretty."
Denise: "What?"
Rod: "Uh, I said you look shitty."

  • Man Child
  • Made of Iron: Rod, despite the many accidents he's involved in he never receives any long lasting injuries. Subverted at the end when he "dies"...
  • Mood Whiplash: The Crowning Music of Awesome that turns into a mass riot.
  • Motive Rant: Wendever Rod has a mic he will start ranting about how much he wants to kill Frank.
  • Overly Long Gag: Just how high WAS that hill that Rod tumbled down?
    • BABE! WAIT! NO BABE BAAAABE NO NO BABE NO NO NO BABE NO BAAAAAABE!
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: The reason why Rod wants to give Frank a new heart, so he can rip it out of him, yes he says this, a lot
  • Precision F-Strike: Wouldn't be Lonely Island without at least one f-bomb. Though in this case, it's not said by one of the dudes, but by a woman who tells Rod, "get the fuck off my lawn".
  • Production Posse: The Lonely Island directs and stars, and SNL fans will recognise Bill Hader and Will Arnett as well.
  • Stupid Statement Dance Mix: COOL BEANS!
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Rod, to hilariously insane levels.
  • You Say Tomato: Rod tells his crew that his safety word is "huwisky". His stepbrother wants to know why he's pronouncing "whiskey" so weirdly, which leads to Rod pronouncing a string of words starting with 'wh' (and one that just starts with 'w') in the same way until his stepbrother gives up. According to Word of God, this was inspired by a skit on Gang Starr's album Moment of Truth.