Hot Rod

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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:

• Ambiguously Gay: Jonathan is seen reading a muscle fitness magazine at one point and seems to care more about his best friend Sullivan than Denise.
• Amusing Injuries: This movie is very slapstick.
• Animal Battle Aura: Rod will call apon a random animal spirit whenever he does a jump.
• Badass Mustache: It's taped on, though.
• Brick Joke: Rod randomly asks Denise who would win a fight between a grilled-cheese sandwich and a taco. She says the taco, but only because it would fight dirty. When Rod "dies" after his big jump, he has an Imagine Spot where a giant taco beats a giant grilled-cheese sandwich after whacking it with a steel chair.
• Bring My Brown Pants: Doubles up as a Chekhov's Skill.
• Chekhov's Skill: Rod asks Denise if there's a tai chi move that can make a man lose control of his bowels. He then goads her into displaying it on him. Rod then uses it on his stepdad in the films climax.
• Circle of Shame: When Rod's movie is shown at the theater and he realizes everyone's laughing at how incompetent he looks.
• Creator Cameo: Akiva Schaffer shows up for a moment as Dave's acid-dealing friend Derek.
• Defeat Means Friendship: Pretty much the whole reason why Rod and Frank fight each other
• Drowning My Sorrows: Rod.
• Girl Next Door: Denise
• Heroic BSOD: Rod. He starts acting like an adult and buying many bottles of alcohol.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: Rod's reaction to finding out that Frank is dying, because he wants to fight him
• Jerkass: Rod and Frank to varying extents. Both Played for Laughs though.
  • Denise's current boyfriend. Rod is a Friend to All Living Things. He laughs maniacally while he runs over a squirell purely For the Evulz.

"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.