September 15, 2025 • 41 mins
Outdoor SoBro stops by the studio to talk 2007's Hot Rod alongside Stoney - the comedy, the good old days, and the pursuit of a dream.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Flipping back the calendar to highlight Yesteryear's finus while exploring
the vast archives in cinema history. This is the movie
review Rewind podcast on Nashville Movie Dispatch. My name is
(00:37):
Stony and I like to party, and this is the
movie review Rewind podcast here on Nashville Movie Dispatch. Of
course Stony Keeley at Stony Keeley on Twitter at Sobros Network,
on all major social media platforms, and all of our
work reviewing and discussing the film industry up on Nashville
(00:59):
Movie Dispatch dot substack dot com. Got a special guest
for you today. We are gonna be talking about hot Rod.
The I didn't even look to see what year hot
Rod came out.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
That's how behind I am. I think it was two
thousand and eight, ok seven?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Outdoor sobro here and I also like to party.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I forgot that this movie is where that that bit
came from. And for me, that was a part of
the viewing experience going back and reliving this film. I
haven't watched it in a long time. It was one
that I remember loving when I first saw it, and
I bought the DVD and I wore it out the
summer that I that I had it, but I haven't
(01:41):
really watched it since. And comedy has been a popular
topic of discussion this year because it just feels like
they don't really make comedies like they used to anymore.
And the last one that I saw that really felt
like a throwback to this era of common he was
friendship with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. But it did
(02:03):
kind of stir that conversation back up in the circle,
so to speak, and it felt like an opportune time
to go back and relive this movie. And it was
kind of like, Man, I forgot that's where this came from.
That's where that came from. I've been drinking green tea
(02:24):
all GD day. That was I go to church every
GD Sunday. You're going to bring the demons out in me.
I mean, it's just highly quotable. But for for you,
what was the what was the experience like years later
kind of going back and relive in this film.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So before I jump in OT, I just want to say,
with the comedy talk and that make the movies anymore.
And you could argue, or someone might argue, I wouldn't that. Oh,
it's just the generations of change. And the kids have
a different sense of humor or something out as the kids,
young adults whatever. Yeah, but this past year, maybe two
years ago, my wife's younger sister was a teenager at
(03:02):
the time. I'd come home and was like, oh, me
and my friends watched this old movie. It was so funny,
so stupid, so funny. We loved it. Oh it was
a hot rod. It's like, it's not an old movie.
Was like, oh, yes, kind of yeah, but it was
like they don't have like it's not like when we're
watching the Parents in one of our parents' film they
thought was funny back in the day. There's not many.
There's might small classics, but like this still holds up.
(03:25):
It's not that old. Of course it's going to hold
up in my brain, but like the kids are starved
for good comedy.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, And I think the the difference because I do
think it's worth pointing out the generational discussion. Like the
general I don't want to it seems a bit extreme
to call this a generational war, but the idea that well,
the comedies of my era were funny than the comedies today.
(03:52):
That was relevant back then when we were talking like
Will Ferrell and Andy Samberg versus like Adam Sandler and
Chris Rock and versus Eddie Murphy and all that. It's
different because they were actually making comedies back then. Now
if you google, because I did a little research. I
wrote a piece for Nashville Movie Dispatch earlier this year
(04:14):
about friendship being kind of a shot in the arm
from the comedy genre, and an exercise I performed to
write that I would just google top comedies for twenty
twenty four, and it's like rom coms that come up.
It's like Transformers movies. That's like Marvel movies that you know,
are superhero flicks that have some humorous bits shoehorned in.
(04:39):
But they're not making films like hot Rod anymore, and
if they are, it's few and far between. Whereas it
felt like when I was a teenager or I was
in college when hot Rod came out. Back in those days,
it was like you could go to the theater any
given week and you would have an option there saying
(05:00):
that they were putting out comedies every week. But like
you could go to the theater and like hot Rod
would be showing for four or five weeks in a row,
and then you know, Anchorman would be out Talladega Knights,
Semipro like all this stuff, Napoleon Dynamite, even there was
always something that satiated that appetite for humor. We had
(05:23):
a menu, had a menu, Yeah, and nowadays it's just
not the case, and some of it doesn't hold up
very well. There have been movies that, through this podcast
and drinking with Stephen mccash, that we've gone back and
watched and it's not the same. Like, I think about
(05:44):
how funny I thought, dude, where's My car is? As
a kid, which I was, I would have been, I
guess not a kid like fourteen years old when it
came out thinking it was funny, and then watching it
again twenty one years later it was like, this is
a hot pile of shit. Yeah, this is not good,
even stuff like I'm a big fan of The Broken
Lizard guys. Yeah, but even going back and watching Super Troopers,
(06:07):
you're kind of like, yeah, this is pretty sophomore juvenile.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
But it was a cutting edge at the time.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
It's cutting edge at the time. Yeah, And the larger
point being that there was real variety.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Back then, people were trying, people were taking risks in
comedy and it just doesn't feel like that's the case anymore.
I don't know. Even thinking about Friendship, even it had
aspects that were a little deeper than surface level comedy,
it did kind of feel there was a sort of
(06:41):
loneliness to the film. There was a you know, it
was a well made film too, I mean, produced by
A twenty four. You see that logo go up before
the movie. You know you're gonna get something original, unique,
But even that like doesn't feel the same as what
was made with like hot Rod and Talladega Nights in
(07:03):
those movies.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, So like watching I've seen it, you know, frequently
over the years, and it's been a while since I've
watched it. You might see bits and pieces you just
try to remember the one liners, you know, which is
lost art, you know. But when it when it just
kind of opened up and you had that opening scene,
the first jump, and like there's there's several points here,
(07:24):
like ay, I can when this came out, I wasn't
living a much different life than than Rod. Yeah, as
a you know, a lifetime motorcycle racer when I was
younger then I was also working with some film groups
and stuff, music videos and you know, small movies and stuff,
like in a lot of these situations they need a
(07:46):
motorcycle rider. So I was was like this aspiring stunt
rider for films, and I just because of my unwillingness
to go to a different market, like I wasn't going
anywhere with it. So it was just kind of you know,
when something was in Nashville, they might and I might
be able to do something. So I was like modifying
my dirt bikes to make them look like apocket lips
situations and stuff, and like I was out riding and
(08:07):
we're like do a take, do a take, do a take,
and like.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
That sounds fun though, yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And then like also seeing the movies that are too
serious and you've got these stunt set ups and explosions
or jumps, and it's always like in the wrong sound effects.
It's like some of these stunt stuff and the movies
they just don't they don't mix it together. But then
in Hot Rider they didn't even like try to fake it.
It was just that first opening jump it was like
he's gonna jump over the ice cream truck. It was
(08:34):
like he's not going fast enough, and just they just
complete rag Doll with the rag doll and then they're like,
oh and just vomity, Like just it was so violent
right off the back, you can't help but just bend
over laughing the first time you see it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, and it's it's it really sets the tone for
the film too. It's like, this is this is what
this movie is about to be. But I uh, I
feel like that's a testament in part to Andy Samberg
being I don't know, so expressive and aside from the
(09:13):
the way this was was written, I just it's hard
for me to picture anybody else in that role. I mean,
he he looks and plays it kind of goofy. Yeah,
but it's it is the stuff like the way he
looks when he's puking, just violently puking is hilarious. And
the way that that scene is shot where you just
(09:34):
see his body go limp and fly across the ice
cream truck and just hit the other ramp and folded.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
It's like and when they shot that, like that was
I don't know how many takes that would have taken,
but that might have been one and then be like
we can't replicate that was perfect?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was. It was so good Man
and and the physical comedy aspect of it is something
that I think is it can be tricky in a
comedy because I think in some instances it can go
too far and just be a little like, Okay, we're
this is over the top here, it's too much, it's
(10:12):
too too, too dialed up. I think the physical comedy
is dialed up in hot Rod, but I don't think
it ever feels silly in a way. It's silly but
not it's silly, but in a way that makes sense
to the story. It feels weird talking about hot Rod
in this fashion. But I never felt that the physical
(10:35):
comedy was forced. No, it felt very naturally.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
You felt like that was their lifestyle because you followed
them around. Because Letter Kinney has kind of done a
similar thing. So just young adults with not a lot
of opportunity things to do, just kicking in the parking lot, yeah,
kicking it at the hot dog stand, not causing trouble,
just dreaming.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
It's like we all, we all at that age around
here in anyway, everybody had their thing, like we're going
to try and make it. Yeah, Like we weren't doing
stunts and motorcycle work, but we were doing backyard wrestling. Yeah,
we were, you know, throwing each other off of trampolines
and ladders and all that, and thought like, yeah, this
(11:15):
is gonna be our ticket out of this album.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
With the handheld camera.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
With the handheld camera, yeah, it was. This is a production, Yeah,
this is the fireworks. The fireworks. Yeah, the uh there
was one show I remember, our main event went past
midnight and we had fireworks for the winner. And so
the match happens, guys raising the championship belt. It's past midnight,
(11:41):
and I made the call. I was like, I bought
these fucking fireworks, I'm shooting them off. So we start
shooting Roman candles and the big mortars and everything. It's
like twelve twenty in the morning. And the final words
on the broadcast, I say with my air quotes, was
just somebody behind the camera as we're saying off, you
(12:01):
just hear Stony's neighbors are gonna be pissed. But we
got those fireworks off because that was our ticket out.
We were all we were all a little hot rod
back in the day. But the physical comedy to get
back to that, I think it's paced out where it's
not just one on top of the other and it
(12:21):
feels like a barrage where it's like, Okay, this is
just what this movie is. It's not the case with
hot Rod. There's some nice pacing. There's a variety of
comedy in this film. You go from the physical stuff
to like a timing of some of the dialogue, the
chemistry between the characters. It's got a great funny cast,
even like Will Arnett in a supporting role as oh, gosh,
(12:46):
I can't remember the character's name, Isla Fisher's character her boyfriend,
where he's just like, Sullivan, you chowed. I forgot. Oh,
that's where that came from. It's like when it runs
over the possum, he's like, I gotta tell Sullivan about that.
He's gonna be so stoked, like you just ran over
a possum and it's so it's so funny. But you
(13:08):
get those kind of moments in between the bouts of
physical comedy, and to me, that was something that I
think another film, Pineapple Express did pretty well where it
was really stupid, over the top funny, but it paced
the physical comedy out in a way that didn't feel forced.
It didn't feel like this is the bit, this is
(13:29):
the ticket to make this movie funny, but like the
fight scene in the bathroom when they bust down the
door and dam mc bride's head goes through the sink
and the sink comes off the wall. Funny stuff, but
then they kind of ground it and the humor is
more in the jokes in between. But I was curious
if you had any any favorite scenes involving the physical
comedy and hot rod.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Man. There's so many. It felt like each each transition
kind of there wasn't. There was some slower moments, but
it always like brought you back. Like when he comes
in is You're like, he knows he loves and hates
his stepdad Frank, but he comes in at late at
night and it's like, I know you're sleeping, Frank, but
I'm gonna get that money for him. He turns around
(14:13):
a Frank spot and was like who you're talking to?
Like just you're like, oh this is sweet. It was like,
oh shit, it just gets you right off car. But yeah,
I don't know, there's so many, Like the one liners
are great, Like I think they impacted I don't know
if you're gonna talk about that separately, but like it
there's so many one liners like expanded out of like
culturally for years, and I think we talked already earlier
(14:36):
that we didn't even we forgot that's where it came from.
But like, yeah, the what and whiskey was like people
said that all the time. And then cool beans mm
hm cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
beans was was a big thing. But some of my
favorites that I had to remember. Never sneak up on him,
man who's been in a chemical fire?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, I like, uh, I jotted down. I jotted down
quite a few. Hey guys, I'm gonna go. I gotta
go drop some dumpage. Hey guys, have found some fireworks
in the bathroom. You want to light them off. Bill
Hayter's character some point is trying to quote someone and
(15:19):
just says he who is resistant to change is destined
to perish.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
But then right after that, they were filling up the
pool and Danny, uh, because I wrote this one down,
was right after that quote, he raised the hose up
and sprayed Bill Hater in the face and goes, ever
have to tell me that, don't ever tell me how
to live my life again.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's the same scene, the same scene when they're filling
up the pool. Excuse me that Danny McBride yells at
the at Bill Hayter's little sister and just says, hey,
little girl, I don't want cheriot upsets my stomach.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I used to say that all the time to my
wife or any any female.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Hey little girl, little girl. Uh the I've been drinking
green tea all GD day. That's oh man, that's funny.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And that what that made that scene so great was
like it was like action, Ah, we failed, and then
just it just came out.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
The guy. And first of all, when he hits the
trailer and it busts out on the other side is
so funny. I'm laughing at that. And then they're trying
to assess the situation.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, you can't even get to the next point before
they just a fight breaks out for no reason.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
The guy comes out of his house pissed off, says
something Danny McBride's character says, I've been drinking green tea
all GD day, starts beating him with a traffic cone
and then takes his hat and says, this is my
hat now. And then that's the scene. That's the scene
we're on.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I think looking back there was at least one thing
early on, and it was, like I wrote down here
is like I missed the ability to hang out in
a driveway and just drink beer sitting in a chair
hang the driveway.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
One thing was like when they were doing that, Danny
McBride was saying something about his dreams. I keep having
this dream when they come making all these these wizards
or these elves wives trying to have sex with me.
But you can watch bo Haeter go to take a
drink because he starts, he starts cracking a smile. He's
about to lose it. You could just see it there.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
But I would be curious to know how much of
this movie was actually written and how much was just
them dicking around on set and making a final cut.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Yeah. Uh, but back to the driveway beers. I'm like,
I actually do that a lot with my kids, just
like whatever, I'm just gonna sit here. Yeah, but it's
you know, without the humor.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
That was the thing. Like growing up out in the country,
I didn't have that where like kids got together and
hung out in the in the neighborhood. There weren't too many.
I grew up in what was essentially like a random
cul de sac out in the middle of the woods.
Back then, there were only a couple of kids my
age never really hung out the way that they do
(18:06):
in Hot Ride. We damn sure didn't have the means
to go down to the convenience store and hang out
in the parking lot. I don't know, I'm picturing just
four teenagers in the Sugs Creek parking lot, like wasn't
a thing back then, So there was. There was a
part of me that, now that you bring it up,
is kind of envious of kids that did get to
(18:28):
do that. What else do I have? I've said, Sullivan,
you chowed. Maybe I'll get a box of dong bags
so we can knock boots later. That was a good one.
He also tells her when she says something about wanting
to go to the stunt show or whatever. He says, well,
guess what, you're embarrassing yourself and the whole babe, wait thing.
(18:51):
I had forgotten about that. Babe. Wait, no, babe, babe no,
like just out of nowhere. This stuff happens when I'm
pretty sure. Okay, So there there's a line where when
we set up the films like Climax, Rod's preparing to
(19:13):
do the big stunt that's gonna raise all the money,
and he stands in front of the crowd and just
loudly says, who wants to see me do a big
ass stunt? I'm pretty sure I dropped that in a
backyard wrestling match from the top of a ladder. I
got on top of a ladder and I yelled, who
wants to see me do a big ass stunt? And
then I did an elbow drop off of it, which
(19:34):
I had forgotten about until I saw this movie, and
again was like, oh yeah, I forgot about that. I
also think this movie was the first time I heard
the term boner police. Oh, and I can't I can't
remember the guy's name. He's in a lot of comedies.
He's in like the Anchorman stuff. The poop guy from
Anchorman was then he was the announcer the AM radio bit.
(19:58):
I forgot about that too, the am radio bit, and
he says, if the boner police are here, I demand
a lawyer. And I don't think i'd heard boner police
before that, but I've been using it ever since. So
hot Rod contributed to that. There was one one quote
from Rod that I thought, oh Man, that's actually a bar.
(20:19):
At one point he says life is pain and we
got to scrape the joy out of every bit. I
was like, damn, what business does that have being in
this movie? But I think that's part of also what
makes it funny is that you have stuff like that.
It feels like a drastic tonal shift out of place,
and that in and of itself, I think is funny.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah. I love when you first get introduced to Isla
Fisher's character as of the neighbor kind of thing, and
she's walking up think he says something like, hey, you
look really cute.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
What did you say?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
I think you look really stupid? Yeah, I don't know,
was really stupid something like that.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I I love the scene where he tries to impress.
He's trying to impress her and like lure her over
to his garage with the mirror and he tried tries
to look like he knows what he's doing, but he's
just beating an engine with a hammer.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I replicated that in there me and my wife's engagement video.
I had a buddy, really I and I don't think
I realized it at the time, but now thinking back, like, oh, yeah,
that's exactly where I got that from, just some contry.
I had a buddy in there working on a shock
a suspension and he's just hitting it with a hammer
and the thing, and I was like, yeah, it's total,
totally for Mott Rod.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I laughed so hard at that the first time I
saw it. That was because it is. It's just so stupid.
It's like, I don't know, it's one of those things
like in Rod's mind, he's like, this is I'm gonna
look like, I know, like a strong man fixing this engine.
But everybody knows what that. Fixing an engine does not
(22:03):
look like just beating it with a hammer kind of deal.
That still rules. I like when they're like trying to
prep him for holding his breath and they end up
like nearly drowning him. They just hold him under. It's
thirty nine seconds and he's he's out. When he sets
himself on fire and runs through that sign at the
kid's birthday party and then it just looks like pure
(22:27):
chaos of people just running around.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
That was good explosion at the corporate event and the
guy goes, you're a terrible stump man. He pretends like
you can't hear I've used that a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Like what's that?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
What's Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
No, I heard you.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
It's just a terrible thing to say to somebody.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, oh man uh. And then this big inspirational scene
everybody's walking through the streets, people are singing, and the
guy just walks up to a storefront with a trashtan
and just throws it through the window. And then people
are like beaten cars with crowbars and it just the
(23:04):
full scale riot breaks out. And then they get out
a dodge and they turn around talking about how crazy
it is. But Danny McBride's holding a TV and he's
just like, yeah, I don't really know, you know, how
things got so out of control? That got a little
dodgy there for a minute, kind of deal. That was
pretty funny. I landed on this film being like elevated Jackass. Yeah,
(23:33):
it's kind of scripted elevated Jackass, but it's actually to me.
I think the surprising part for my rewatch of this
was going back and realizing that there are some actual,
like relatable qualities to this story that if you can
(23:56):
set the silly stuff aside, it's actually like a pretty
good movie. Yeah you have you know, the seeking excuse me,
seeking his stepfather's approval, that sort of deal, liking a
girl but not really knowing how to talk to her,
(24:16):
social outcasts, kind of finding their way in life. It
did kind of feel like a roundabout way of sort
of telling a certain sort of coming of age story.
And we don't have to get too deep about hot Rod,
but I did. I do feel like the best comedies
(24:37):
really do hit you with the gut busting humor, but
they always have a certain heart to them at well
as well. And I do think hot Rod is one
of those movies that if you look close enough, there
are some elements that make it a really just good
human interest story.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Oh yeah, absolutely it is. It's very well rounded. But
I think back to what you said, I didn't think
about it being a coming of age because they're adults,
but they are essentially children, Yeah, and that's what makes
it funny. But at the same time, like that's where
I think it was relatable to me because I was
an adult, I didn't feel like an adult and I
was in a very similar situation whereas people were coming
home from school from college, you know, already getting nice
(25:19):
jobs stuff like that, and I'm like, dude, I'm just
over here having fun like that was just terrible. And
then I'm like realizing, oh, you know, maybe I'm behind,
but also don't care, like I'm I'm living life.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
It was. It was the same way for me. I remember,
like my father used to tell me all the time.
He's like, man, reality's going to bite you in the
ass soon, like you gotta you gotta straighten up. Two
thousand and seven, I was a I would have been
a it would have been my third year of college,
and so it was a time when, you know, I
think if I had been a little more responsible back then,
(25:50):
it's lining up internships, making relationships in the professional world,
that sort of thing. But no, instead I was just
doing what I had to do to get through my courses,
coming home on the weekend and doing backyard wrestling or
going out and like just doing dumb shit all the
(26:13):
time with my friends. And so when it did come time,
you know, I got my degree, I got out of college,
and it did come time to enter the real world,
I did kind of realize at that point, like, ah, shit,
I should have been I should have been doing a
little bit more to prepare for this moment.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Could have been. Should have been fair enough.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Fair enough. It did take me two years before I
found a real job out of college.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
It took me ten years to graduate college. I was
the whole time, but I started the normal down the
normal route, and then I stopped and I went back
later and had a lot of fun and experiencement. But
now in the real world, nowadays, it's I you know,
when your colleagues are ten years younger, and you're like, Okay,
(27:05):
I think it's something I try not to dwell on
because I'm like, you know what, I wouldn't trade it,
because I just want a different path. And I had
a lot of fun, and I look at some of
these kids a lot. I'm like, dude, you're already in
a stressful, stupid spot. True, you're not even having fun.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, yeah, like things. I always had that sense in
the back of my mind when my dad would be like,
you got to get a real job and stop digging
around with your friends all the time. Reality's gonna bite
you in the ass. I did still at the time
have that sense of things aren't going to be like
(27:40):
this forever, so I do want to enjoy what time
that I have left. Yeah, So I didn't think it
was gonna take me two years to find a job
out of college. That's not the bill of goods they
sell you when you go to college.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
But defence, that was a very heavy recession time.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Well to set. Yeah, graduating in two thousand and eight
was was quite difficult. But yeah, I think I think
that's part of what makes hot Rod the total package
is that you do have the chemistry between the characters,
you do have the physical comedy, but at the end
of the day, it is still a pretty relatable story
for someone that see. I would have been twenty one
(28:21):
years old, twenty one years old when this came out,
so it's kind of one of those films. I'm curious, like,
if you don't see it at that time in your life,
does it hit as hard? Still holding up surprisingly well?
Like I think even if I had never seen it before,
I probably still would have enjoyed this movie.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
I would still be laughing. But you know, at the time,
some of those characters had just kind of the actors
had come onto the scene, but you know kind of
knew them through Saturday Night Live. Yeah, Danny McBride was
one of those early ones, but he had been in
a couple of things already, but.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think this was this was the first time I
had seen him. But he did the foot fist way
before hot Yeah, that wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yes, but I didn't see that before. I can't called
what I've saw him in before hot Rod, but I
knew I already liked his style and his his acting
and what he brings to the table. I can't remember
what what would have been. We had to look at
a map, a map, you know, the Dan Brade map.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Let me see if I can look his filmography up.
We're doing some live producing here.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
There was something I wanted to point out. Oh I
didn't count them, and it might be some math out
there or if it actually counts as a montage or not.
But usually this is this is like an eighties fun
film with in a modern era, but like because it
has a lot of the eighties elements to it with
the montage scene. Although this had multiple montage scenes and
(29:44):
I think that's what's fun. It was like it's continual
build up. But usually it's like one montage getting to
the climax, but this one like it started off with
with montages.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I'm One of the notes that I made was like
the music is oddly pretty good in this movie. It's
it's pretty pretty good, pretty consistent throughout. They do listen
to some eighties tunes in this film that I think
kind of I don't know, enhance it. It's like you
think about it, Like the details in this movie. I
(30:15):
just I come back to being surprised watching it again
in September of twenty twenty five and being like, and
they really put some thought into this. Yeah, this is
a detailed film if you really examine it for all
of its parts. The I've only got a couple of
more notes to get to. I do want to ask,
(30:38):
is there do you is there a particular character that's
your favorite from this film.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
I've just said about Danny may I've always liked Danny
McBride Yea. Rico is great in that just from the
humor aspect of what I like and what is in there,
I really like Rico. I really like Bill Hayter's character.
He's yeah, like he always brings something to the table
that's really funny and awkward, but he was also like
(31:05):
kind of professional, had his day job at the ice
rink or the state whatever, like, but it's also like
he's so silly, but at the same time, like he's
doing math on a calculator with you know, just weird stuff.
But you know, from my general perspective, I feel like
I have to like identify with Rod just because I was.
I was in a similar boat chasing something that was
(31:26):
never gonna happen, didn't have the funds, didn't have the talent,
didn't have the help, and but I still did. I
tried it anyways and on two wheels, just like Rod.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
This is not a popular movie among critics.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Uh fuck critics. It is in this podcast.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Yeah, of course it has a Rotten Tomato score of
thirty nine percent, breezen silliness, and a few humorous set pieces,
but it's far too inconsistent to satisfy all but the
least demanding slapstick lovers. Again, like, if you don't have
the sense of humor, it's going to be a drastically
(32:08):
different viewing experience. And sometimes I think comedies are what
the critics struggle with the most, because I do think
it's something if you don't relate to it, it can
be off putting.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I feel like this one crosses boundaries too, though, because
a lot we were talking about earlier with Tim Robinson. Yeah,
my wife can't stand that type of comedy. I love
it now, hot Rod. The copy that we own of
the DVD, it's my wife's copy.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Oh how about that? Like, there you go.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
It's something we both enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yeah, it wasn't a success at the box office. It
cost twenty five million dollars to make this movie, which
kind of surprises me, and it only made fourteen point
four million during its run.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Well, I would I would say it's probably. I wouldn't
say it's a cult hit. You know, I didn't come
back big.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I'm sure it made some money on physical.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Yeah, really still had time for physical media.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Yeah, yeah, so I'd be curious to see if it But.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
What it did for some of those careers, oh man,
and not just the cast, but behind the scenes probably so.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Danny McBride had done The Foot Fist Way in two
thousand and six, and a movie called All the Real Girls,
which is a romantic drama written and directed by David
Gordon Green, who he's worked with a lot, starring Paul Schneider,
Zoey Deschanel, Shay Wigham, and Patricia Clarkson. Never heard of
this movie. The Foot Fist Way I'm with you. I
(33:37):
never I never went back and saw that one. I
know that's one that Brandon.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I didn't see it before this.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Oh gotcha. Okay, that's when Brandon's really high on too.
It was like his introduction to Danny McBride and then
he would go on to do he was in the
Heartbreak Kid, the Ben Stiller flick with one of the
both of the Fairly Brothers. I never saw that one either,
(34:03):
but then he would go on to do Drill Bit Taylor,
Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder. The hot Rod was hot Rod,
hot Rod, it was the foot Fist Way and then
hot Rod.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
So I guess, so, I guess that was my introduction
to Dana mcbridey.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Yeah, wow, Land of the Loss would come in two
thousand and nine.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Wow, that was so close together.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Yeah, I mean, and then just when.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Was Eastbounding Down.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
That would have been Eastbounding Down I think was nine, Yeah,
two thousand and nine to twenty thirteen. Yeah, Vice Principals
in twenty sixteen, and then the Righteous Gemstones today. So yeah,
I thought talking about the surprising storytelling aspect of hot
(34:49):
Rod dangling something out there and circling back to it.
I thought the ending was just Chef's kiss, where it's
a payoff for a scene where he's doing like tai
Chi by the Lake with Isla Fisher's character and he
asked her about a move that makes a man crap
his pants, and it seems like just like a throwaway,
(35:11):
funny moment where she performs the move on him. He
shits himself and then pretends that he doesn't but he's
just got to leave. But I thought it was a
really nice payoff to have that be the closing moment
of the film when he actually executes the move on
Frank and Frank shots himself in the driveway and then
that's it in scene. I thought that was a really nice,
(35:34):
smart callback to a seed that they had planned earlier
in the film.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
How about another thing too, I bet was really cool
for the cast at the time, and it just kind
of was underwhelming in there. But she was a staple,
was his mother. But is Sissy space? Yeah, just to
be in this situation is so funny.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yeah, and even oh man, I can't think of Frank's
name even, you know, he is a talented actor. Gosh,
what's his name now? Ian McShane, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Right, also too, like harp on this every once in
a while. But it's funny they're in Washington State in
this film, like it that. It's I think it's said
at least if not, just the license plates and all that.
But Danny McBride could be a transplant whatever. He's a
Southern guy. He's got that accent. That's what kind of
(36:34):
what makes it funny when he gets aggressive. But the
guy he gets in a fight with with the the trailer,
he comes out and just his most redneck. So why
is all the aggressive guys have to have to talk? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yeah, but the hell's going on out here? Yeah? Oh,
it's it's great. Where do you think where do you
think hot Rod fits in the comedies of its era? Yeah,
I don't. I don't know if you could do a
mount Rushmore off the top of your head.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
But you'd have to narrak down for years, I guess.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But we'll just say two thousand to twenty ten that range,
because I I go, I think I do put Step
Brothers up there. I think I go Pineapple Express, probably
put Anchorman in there, and then I think, I don't know,
I think I might put hot Rod in that fourth spot.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
I'm going to old school. Two thousand is it's a
long it's a big range.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah, when I still made these once every couple of months,
that'd be a good comedy out for sure.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
I know I'm gonna miss m I did like Pineapple
Express just because that next level of quality was there.
It just was a little bit different, more more violent,
just the story it was and it was pretty original,
you know. So I really do like them. But I
think my number one I'm Aunt Rushmore during those years,
just because at the time I was at in life,
(37:56):
the topic and just the joy and it still brings
to my family is Talladega Nights I got up there.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Super Bad would be up there too.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Super Bad for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Yeah, there's too many that.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
It was such a good era it was. And Knocked
Up was that knocked was a great thing.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
I don't know if hot Rod would be on my
Mount Rushmore just because there's so many there. Off the
top of our head what we can remember right now,
I put it on there.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I think, I I mean step Brothers, Anchorman and Pineapple
Express or three of my four favorite comedies ever. Yeah,
and I was a big dumb and dumber fan too.
That would be my comedy Mount Rushmore, Thumb and Dumber
obviously nineties flick. So if I take that one out,
I think it would come down to super Bad versus
(38:53):
hot Rod for me.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Yeah, that's good, and.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
I think super Bad is probably the more widely conterd
Hallmark comedy of the decade. Kind of deal. But I
don't know, man, I think hot Rod hot Rod might
have it.
Speaker 3 (39:10):
I don't know. It's close. It's almost like its own
category for me. I think, like when I when I
think of hot Rob, I just those other ones, like
I see aos films like hot Rod was like a
way of life for me, Like yeah, yeah, not that
I'm putting it higher than the others, it's just different
for me. I don't know, Well.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
That's going to do it. I got to the end
of my notes, you got anything else? Empty the clip on?
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Man, I feel like I've got I think one thing
that we didn't hit on, which I thought was hilarious
because you didn't really see it coming. You knew something
was going to happen. But when he's in bubble wrap
and he's like running into training and he's running through
the trees, he's looking around him and reco hits him
with the van with the mattress and strap to the front.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I also I also like the scene, going back to
the physical comedy aspect of it, where he's like, I
need to go to my quiet place, and then it
just shows him out in the world. It's beer smoking,
smoking a cigarette, and then he starts dancing, running around
the forest doing like these absurd gymnastic moves, and then
(40:13):
he just hits his foot on a log and you
just see the music just an abrupt cut and you
just hear shit, yeah, and he flips and starts tumbling
down the side of the mountain.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
You know, I had that scene in my engagement video
as well. I think subconsciously I stole so recreative and
the whole thing was on two wheels too, Like I
think I just made like my own little romantic hot
Rudy show.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
There you go. That's a good, good note for us
to end on. Thank you guys for tuning in to
another episode of the movie Review Rewind podcast. Again. All
of our work covering movies is up at Nashville Movie
Dispatch dot substack dot com. He's outdoor, so bro, I'm
big natural Stony Keeley And until next time you stay
classy moviegoers
Flipping back the calendar to highlight Yesteryear's finus while exploring
the vast archives in cinema history. This is the movie
review Rewind podcast on Nashville Movie Dispatch. My name is
(00:37):
Stony and I like to party, and this is the
movie review Rewind podcast here on Nashville Movie Dispatch. Of
course Stony Keeley at Stony Keeley on Twitter at Sobros Network,
on all major social media platforms, and all of our
work reviewing and discussing the film industry up on Nashville
(00:59):
Movie Dispatch dot substack dot com. Got a special guest
for you today. We are gonna be talking about hot Rod.
The I didn't even look to see what year hot
Rod came out.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
That's how behind I am. I think it was two
thousand and eight, ok seven?
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Outdoor sobro here and I also like to party.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
I forgot that this movie is where that that bit
came from. And for me, that was a part of
the viewing experience going back and reliving this film. I
haven't watched it in a long time. It was one
that I remember loving when I first saw it, and
I bought the DVD and I wore it out the
summer that I that I had it, but I haven't
(01:41):
really watched it since. And comedy has been a popular
topic of discussion this year because it just feels like
they don't really make comedies like they used to anymore.
And the last one that I saw that really felt
like a throwback to this era of common he was
friendship with Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. But it did
(02:03):
kind of stir that conversation back up in the circle,
so to speak, and it felt like an opportune time
to go back and relive this movie. And it was
kind of like, Man, I forgot that's where this came from.
That's where that came from. I've been drinking green tea
(02:24):
all GD day. That was I go to church every
GD Sunday. You're going to bring the demons out in me.
I mean, it's just highly quotable. But for for you,
what was the what was the experience like years later
kind of going back and relive in this film.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
So before I jump in OT, I just want to say,
with the comedy talk and that make the movies anymore.
And you could argue, or someone might argue, I wouldn't that. Oh,
it's just the generations of change. And the kids have
a different sense of humor or something out as the kids,
young adults whatever. Yeah, but this past year, maybe two
years ago, my wife's younger sister was a teenager at
(03:02):
the time. I'd come home and was like, oh, me
and my friends watched this old movie. It was so funny,
so stupid, so funny. We loved it. Oh it was
a hot rod. It's like, it's not an old movie.
Was like, oh, yes, kind of yeah, but it was
like they don't have like it's not like when we're
watching the Parents in one of our parents' film they
thought was funny back in the day. There's not many.
There's might small classics, but like this still holds up.
(03:25):
It's not that old. Of course it's going to hold
up in my brain, but like the kids are starved
for good comedy.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Yeah, And I think the the difference because I do
think it's worth pointing out the generational discussion. Like the
general I don't want to it seems a bit extreme
to call this a generational war, but the idea that well,
the comedies of my era were funny than the comedies today.
(03:52):
That was relevant back then when we were talking like
Will Ferrell and Andy Samberg versus like Adam Sandler and
Chris Rock and versus Eddie Murphy and all that. It's
different because they were actually making comedies back then. Now
if you google, because I did a little research. I
wrote a piece for Nashville Movie Dispatch earlier this year
(04:14):
about friendship being kind of a shot in the arm
from the comedy genre, and an exercise I performed to
write that I would just google top comedies for twenty
twenty four, and it's like rom coms that come up.
It's like Transformers movies. That's like Marvel movies that you know,
are superhero flicks that have some humorous bits shoehorned in.
(04:39):
But they're not making films like hot Rod anymore, and
if they are, it's few and far between. Whereas it
felt like when I was a teenager or I was
in college when hot Rod came out. Back in those days,
it was like you could go to the theater any
given week and you would have an option there saying
(05:00):
that they were putting out comedies every week. But like
you could go to the theater and like hot Rod
would be showing for four or five weeks in a row,
and then you know, Anchorman would be out Talladega Knights,
Semipro like all this stuff, Napoleon Dynamite, even there was
always something that satiated that appetite for humor. We had
(05:23):
a menu, had a menu, Yeah, and nowadays it's just
not the case, and some of it doesn't hold up
very well. There have been movies that, through this podcast
and drinking with Stephen mccash, that we've gone back and
watched and it's not the same. Like, I think about
(05:44):
how funny I thought, dude, where's My car is? As
a kid, which I was, I would have been, I
guess not a kid like fourteen years old when it
came out thinking it was funny, and then watching it
again twenty one years later it was like, this is
a hot pile of shit. Yeah, this is not good,
even stuff like I'm a big fan of The Broken
Lizard guys. Yeah, but even going back and watching Super Troopers,
(06:07):
you're kind of like, yeah, this is pretty sophomore juvenile.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
But it was a cutting edge at the time.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
It's cutting edge at the time. Yeah, And the larger
point being that there was real variety.
Speaker 3 (06:18):
Ye.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Back then, people were trying, people were taking risks in
comedy and it just doesn't feel like that's the case anymore.
I don't know. Even thinking about Friendship, even it had
aspects that were a little deeper than surface level comedy,
it did kind of feel there was a sort of
(06:41):
loneliness to the film. There was a you know, it
was a well made film too, I mean, produced by
A twenty four. You see that logo go up before
the movie. You know you're gonna get something original, unique,
But even that like doesn't feel the same as what
was made with like hot Rod and Talladega Nights in
(07:03):
those movies.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Yeah, So like watching I've seen it, you know, frequently
over the years, and it's been a while since I've
watched it. You might see bits and pieces you just
try to remember the one liners, you know, which is
lost art, you know. But when it when it just
kind of opened up and you had that opening scene,
the first jump, and like there's there's several points here,
(07:24):
like ay, I can when this came out, I wasn't
living a much different life than than Rod. Yeah, as
a you know, a lifetime motorcycle racer when I was
younger then I was also working with some film groups
and stuff, music videos and you know, small movies and stuff,
like in a lot of these situations they need a
(07:46):
motorcycle rider. So I was was like this aspiring stunt
rider for films, and I just because of my unwillingness
to go to a different market, like I wasn't going
anywhere with it. So it was just kind of you know,
when something was in Nashville, they might and I might
be able to do something. So I was like modifying
my dirt bikes to make them look like apocket lips
situations and stuff, and like I was out riding and
(08:07):
we're like do a take, do a take, do a take,
and like.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
That sounds fun though, yeah, it was fun.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
And then like also seeing the movies that are too
serious and you've got these stunt set ups and explosions
or jumps, and it's always like in the wrong sound effects.
It's like some of these stunt stuff and the movies
they just don't they don't mix it together. But then
in Hot Rider they didn't even like try to fake it.
It was just that first opening jump it was like
he's gonna jump over the ice cream truck. It was
(08:34):
like he's not going fast enough, and just they just
complete rag Doll with the rag doll and then they're like,
oh and just vomity, Like just it was so violent
right off the back, you can't help but just bend
over laughing the first time you see it.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
Yeah, and it's it's it really sets the tone for
the film too. It's like, this is this is what
this movie is about to be. But I uh, I
feel like that's a testament in part to Andy Samberg
being I don't know, so expressive and aside from the
(09:13):
the way this was was written, I just it's hard
for me to picture anybody else in that role. I mean,
he he looks and plays it kind of goofy. Yeah,
but it's it is the stuff like the way he
looks when he's puking, just violently puking is hilarious. And
the way that that scene is shot where you just
(09:34):
see his body go limp and fly across the ice
cream truck and just hit the other ramp and folded.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
It's like and when they shot that, like that was
I don't know how many takes that would have taken,
but that might have been one and then be like
we can't replicate that was perfect?
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was. It was so good Man
and and the physical comedy aspect of it is something
that I think is it can be tricky in a
comedy because I think in some instances it can go
too far and just be a little like, Okay, we're
this is over the top here, it's too much, it's
(10:12):
too too, too dialed up. I think the physical comedy
is dialed up in hot Rod, but I don't think
it ever feels silly in a way. It's silly but
not it's silly, but in a way that makes sense
to the story. It feels weird talking about hot Rod
in this fashion. But I never felt that the physical
(10:35):
comedy was forced. No, it felt very naturally.
Speaker 3 (10:38):
You felt like that was their lifestyle because you followed
them around. Because Letter Kinney has kind of done a
similar thing. So just young adults with not a lot
of opportunity things to do, just kicking in the parking lot, yeah,
kicking it at the hot dog stand, not causing trouble,
just dreaming.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
It's like we all, we all at that age around
here in anyway, everybody had their thing, like we're going
to try and make it. Yeah, Like we weren't doing
stunts and motorcycle work, but we were doing backyard wrestling. Yeah,
we were, you know, throwing each other off of trampolines
and ladders and all that, and thought like, yeah, this
(11:15):
is gonna be our ticket out of this album.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
With the handheld camera.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
With the handheld camera, yeah, it was. This is a production, Yeah,
this is the fireworks. The fireworks. Yeah, the uh there
was one show I remember, our main event went past
midnight and we had fireworks for the winner. And so
the match happens, guys raising the championship belt. It's past midnight,
(11:41):
and I made the call. I was like, I bought
these fucking fireworks, I'm shooting them off. So we start
shooting Roman candles and the big mortars and everything. It's
like twelve twenty in the morning. And the final words
on the broadcast, I say with my air quotes, was
just somebody behind the camera as we're saying off, you
(12:01):
just hear Stony's neighbors are gonna be pissed. But we
got those fireworks off because that was our ticket out.
We were all we were all a little hot rod
back in the day. But the physical comedy to get
back to that, I think it's paced out where it's
not just one on top of the other and it
(12:21):
feels like a barrage where it's like, Okay, this is
just what this movie is. It's not the case with
hot Rod. There's some nice pacing. There's a variety of
comedy in this film. You go from the physical stuff
to like a timing of some of the dialogue, the
chemistry between the characters. It's got a great funny cast,
even like Will Arnett in a supporting role as oh, gosh,
(12:46):
I can't remember the character's name, Isla Fisher's character her boyfriend,
where he's just like, Sullivan, you chowed. I forgot. Oh,
that's where that came from. It's like when it runs
over the possum, he's like, I gotta tell Sullivan about that.
He's gonna be so stoked, like you just ran over
a possum and it's so it's so funny. But you
(13:08):
get those kind of moments in between the bouts of
physical comedy, and to me, that was something that I
think another film, Pineapple Express did pretty well where it
was really stupid, over the top funny, but it paced
the physical comedy out in a way that didn't feel forced.
It didn't feel like this is the bit, this is
(13:29):
the ticket to make this movie funny, but like the
fight scene in the bathroom when they bust down the
door and dam mc bride's head goes through the sink
and the sink comes off the wall. Funny stuff, but
then they kind of ground it and the humor is
more in the jokes in between. But I was curious
if you had any any favorite scenes involving the physical
comedy and hot rod.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Man. There's so many. It felt like each each transition
kind of there wasn't. There was some slower moments, but
it always like brought you back. Like when he comes
in is You're like, he knows he loves and hates
his stepdad Frank, but he comes in at late at
night and it's like, I know you're sleeping, Frank, but
I'm gonna get that money for him. He turns around
(14:13):
a Frank spot and was like who you're talking to?
Like just you're like, oh this is sweet. It was like,
oh shit, it just gets you right off car. But yeah,
I don't know, there's so many, Like the one liners
are great, Like I think they impacted I don't know
if you're gonna talk about that separately, but like it
there's so many one liners like expanded out of like
culturally for years, and I think we talked already earlier
(14:36):
that we didn't even we forgot that's where it came from.
But like, yeah, the what and whiskey was like people
said that all the time. And then cool beans mm
hm cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
beans was was a big thing. But some of my
favorites that I had to remember. Never sneak up on him,
man who's been in a chemical fire?
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Yeah, I like, uh, I jotted down. I jotted down
quite a few. Hey guys, I'm gonna go. I gotta
go drop some dumpage. Hey guys, have found some fireworks
in the bathroom. You want to light them off. Bill
Hayter's character some point is trying to quote someone and
(15:19):
just says he who is resistant to change is destined
to perish.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
But then right after that, they were filling up the
pool and Danny, uh, because I wrote this one down,
was right after that quote, he raised the hose up
and sprayed Bill Hater in the face and goes, ever
have to tell me that, don't ever tell me how
to live my life again.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
It's the same scene, the same scene when they're filling
up the pool. Excuse me that Danny McBride yells at
the at Bill Hayter's little sister and just says, hey,
little girl, I don't want cheriot upsets my stomach.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
I used to say that all the time to my
wife or any any female.
Speaker 2 (15:57):
Hey little girl, little girl. Uh the I've been drinking
green tea all GD day. That's oh man, that's funny.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
And that what that made that scene so great was
like it was like action, Ah, we failed, and then
just it just came out.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
The guy. And first of all, when he hits the
trailer and it busts out on the other side is
so funny. I'm laughing at that. And then they're trying
to assess the situation.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
Yeah, you can't even get to the next point before
they just a fight breaks out for no reason.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
The guy comes out of his house pissed off, says
something Danny McBride's character says, I've been drinking green tea
all GD day, starts beating him with a traffic cone
and then takes his hat and says, this is my
hat now. And then that's the scene. That's the scene
we're on.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I think looking back there was at least one thing
early on, and it was, like I wrote down here
is like I missed the ability to hang out in
a driveway and just drink beer sitting in a chair
hang the driveway.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
One thing was like when they were doing that, Danny
McBride was saying something about his dreams. I keep having
this dream when they come making all these these wizards
or these elves wives trying to have sex with me.
But you can watch bo Haeter go to take a
drink because he starts, he starts cracking a smile. He's
about to lose it. You could just see it there.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
But I would be curious to know how much of
this movie was actually written and how much was just
them dicking around on set and making a final cut.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Yeah. Uh, but back to the driveway beers. I'm like,
I actually do that a lot with my kids, just
like whatever, I'm just gonna sit here. Yeah, but it's
you know, without the humor.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
That was the thing. Like growing up out in the country,
I didn't have that where like kids got together and
hung out in the in the neighborhood. There weren't too many.
I grew up in what was essentially like a random
cul de sac out in the middle of the woods.
Back then, there were only a couple of kids my
age never really hung out the way that they do
(18:06):
in Hot Ride. We damn sure didn't have the means
to go down to the convenience store and hang out
in the parking lot. I don't know, I'm picturing just
four teenagers in the Sugs Creek parking lot, like wasn't
a thing back then, So there was. There was a
part of me that, now that you bring it up,
is kind of envious of kids that did get to
(18:28):
do that. What else do I have? I've said, Sullivan,
you chowed. Maybe I'll get a box of dong bags
so we can knock boots later. That was a good one.
He also tells her when she says something about wanting
to go to the stunt show or whatever. He says, well,
guess what, you're embarrassing yourself and the whole babe, wait thing.
(18:51):
I had forgotten about that. Babe. Wait, no, babe, babe no,
like just out of nowhere. This stuff happens when I'm
pretty sure. Okay, So there there's a line where when
we set up the films like Climax, Rod's preparing to
(19:13):
do the big stunt that's gonna raise all the money,
and he stands in front of the crowd and just
loudly says, who wants to see me do a big
ass stunt? I'm pretty sure I dropped that in a
backyard wrestling match from the top of a ladder. I
got on top of a ladder and I yelled, who
wants to see me do a big ass stunt? And
then I did an elbow drop off of it, which
(19:34):
I had forgotten about until I saw this movie, and
again was like, oh yeah, I forgot about that. I
also think this movie was the first time I heard
the term boner police. Oh, and I can't I can't
remember the guy's name. He's in a lot of comedies.
He's in like the Anchorman stuff. The poop guy from
Anchorman was then he was the announcer the AM radio bit.
(19:58):
I forgot about that too, the am radio bit, and
he says, if the boner police are here, I demand
a lawyer. And I don't think i'd heard boner police
before that, but I've been using it ever since. So
hot Rod contributed to that. There was one one quote
from Rod that I thought, oh Man, that's actually a bar.
(20:19):
At one point he says life is pain and we
got to scrape the joy out of every bit. I
was like, damn, what business does that have being in
this movie? But I think that's part of also what
makes it funny is that you have stuff like that.
It feels like a drastic tonal shift out of place,
and that in and of itself, I think is funny.
Speaker 3 (20:41):
Yeah. I love when you first get introduced to Isla
Fisher's character as of the neighbor kind of thing, and
she's walking up think he says something like, hey, you
look really cute.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
What did you say?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
I think you look really stupid? Yeah, I don't know,
was really stupid something like that.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
I I love the scene where he tries to impress.
He's trying to impress her and like lure her over
to his garage with the mirror and he tried tries
to look like he knows what he's doing, but he's
just beating an engine with a hammer.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
I replicated that in there me and my wife's engagement video.
I had a buddy, really I and I don't think
I realized it at the time, but now thinking back, like, oh, yeah,
that's exactly where I got that from, just some contry.
I had a buddy in there working on a shock
a suspension and he's just hitting it with a hammer
and the thing, and I was like, yeah, it's total,
totally for Mott Rod.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I laughed so hard at that the first time I
saw it. That was because it is. It's just so stupid.
It's like, I don't know, it's one of those things
like in Rod's mind, he's like, this is I'm gonna
look like, I know, like a strong man fixing this engine.
But everybody knows what that. Fixing an engine does not
(22:03):
look like just beating it with a hammer kind of deal.
That still rules. I like when they're like trying to
prep him for holding his breath and they end up
like nearly drowning him. They just hold him under. It's
thirty nine seconds and he's he's out. When he sets
himself on fire and runs through that sign at the
kid's birthday party and then it just looks like pure
(22:27):
chaos of people just running around.
Speaker 3 (22:30):
That was good explosion at the corporate event and the
guy goes, you're a terrible stump man. He pretends like
you can't hear I've used that a bunch of times.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Like what's that?
Speaker 3 (22:39):
What's Oh?
Speaker 2 (22:40):
No, I heard you.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
It's just a terrible thing to say to somebody.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
Yeah, oh man uh. And then this big inspirational scene
everybody's walking through the streets, people are singing, and the
guy just walks up to a storefront with a trashtan
and just throws it through the window. And then people
are like beaten cars with crowbars and it just the
(23:04):
full scale riot breaks out. And then they get out
a dodge and they turn around talking about how crazy
it is. But Danny McBride's holding a TV and he's
just like, yeah, I don't really know, you know, how
things got so out of control? That got a little
dodgy there for a minute, kind of deal. That was
pretty funny. I landed on this film being like elevated Jackass. Yeah,
(23:33):
it's kind of scripted elevated Jackass, but it's actually to me.
I think the surprising part for my rewatch of this
was going back and realizing that there are some actual,
like relatable qualities to this story that if you can
(23:56):
set the silly stuff aside, it's actually like a pretty
good movie. Yeah you have you know, the seeking excuse me,
seeking his stepfather's approval, that sort of deal, liking a
girl but not really knowing how to talk to her,
(24:16):
social outcasts, kind of finding their way in life. It
did kind of feel like a roundabout way of sort
of telling a certain sort of coming of age story.
And we don't have to get too deep about hot Rod,
but I did. I do feel like the best comedies
(24:37):
really do hit you with the gut busting humor, but
they always have a certain heart to them at well
as well. And I do think hot Rod is one
of those movies that if you look close enough, there
are some elements that make it a really just good
human interest story.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Oh yeah, absolutely it is. It's very well rounded. But
I think back to what you said, I didn't think
about it being a coming of age because they're adults,
but they are essentially children, Yeah, and that's what makes
it funny. But at the same time, like that's where
I think it was relatable to me because I was
an adult, I didn't feel like an adult and I
was in a very similar situation whereas people were coming
home from school from college, you know, already getting nice
(25:19):
jobs stuff like that, and I'm like, dude, I'm just
over here having fun like that was just terrible. And
then I'm like realizing, oh, you know, maybe I'm behind,
but also don't care, like I'm I'm living life.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
It was. It was the same way for me. I remember,
like my father used to tell me all the time.
He's like, man, reality's going to bite you in the
ass soon, like you gotta you gotta straighten up. Two
thousand and seven, I was a I would have been
a it would have been my third year of college,
and so it was a time when, you know, I
think if I had been a little more responsible back then,
(25:50):
it's lining up internships, making relationships in the professional world,
that sort of thing. But no, instead I was just
doing what I had to do to get through my courses,
coming home on the weekend and doing backyard wrestling or
going out and like just doing dumb shit all the
(26:13):
time with my friends. And so when it did come time,
you know, I got my degree, I got out of college,
and it did come time to enter the real world,
I did kind of realize at that point, like, ah, shit,
I should have been I should have been doing a
little bit more to prepare for this moment.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
Could have been. Should have been fair enough.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Fair enough. It did take me two years before I
found a real job out of college.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
It took me ten years to graduate college. I was
the whole time, but I started the normal down the
normal route, and then I stopped and I went back
later and had a lot of fun and experiencement. But
now in the real world, nowadays, it's I you know,
when your colleagues are ten years younger, and you're like, Okay,
(27:05):
I think it's something I try not to dwell on
because I'm like, you know what, I wouldn't trade it,
because I just want a different path. And I had
a lot of fun, and I look at some of
these kids a lot. I'm like, dude, you're already in
a stressful, stupid spot. True, you're not even having fun.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
Yeah, yeah, like things. I always had that sense in
the back of my mind when my dad would be like,
you got to get a real job and stop digging
around with your friends all the time. Reality's gonna bite
you in the ass. I did still at the time
have that sense of things aren't going to be like
(27:40):
this forever, so I do want to enjoy what time
that I have left. Yeah, So I didn't think it
was gonna take me two years to find a job
out of college. That's not the bill of goods they
sell you when you go to college.
Speaker 3 (27:55):
But defence, that was a very heavy recession time.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
Well to set. Yeah, graduating in two thousand and eight
was was quite difficult. But yeah, I think I think
that's part of what makes hot Rod the total package
is that you do have the chemistry between the characters,
you do have the physical comedy, but at the end
of the day, it is still a pretty relatable story
for someone that see. I would have been twenty one
(28:21):
years old, twenty one years old when this came out,
so it's kind of one of those films. I'm curious, like,
if you don't see it at that time in your life,
does it hit as hard? Still holding up surprisingly well?
Like I think even if I had never seen it before,
I probably still would have enjoyed this movie.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
I would still be laughing. But you know, at the time,
some of those characters had just kind of the actors
had come onto the scene, but you know kind of
knew them through Saturday Night Live. Yeah, Danny McBride was
one of those early ones, but he had been in
a couple of things already, but.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
I think this was this was the first time I
had seen him. But he did the foot fist way
before hot Yeah, that wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (28:57):
Yes, but I didn't see that before. I can't called
what I've saw him in before hot Rod, but I
knew I already liked his style and his his acting
and what he brings to the table. I can't remember
what what would have been. We had to look at
a map, a map, you know, the Dan Brade map.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
Let me see if I can look his filmography up.
We're doing some live producing here.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
There was something I wanted to point out. Oh I
didn't count them, and it might be some math out
there or if it actually counts as a montage or not.
But usually this is this is like an eighties fun
film with in a modern era, but like because it
has a lot of the eighties elements to it with
the montage scene. Although this had multiple montage scenes and
(29:44):
I think that's what's fun. It was like it's continual
build up. But usually it's like one montage getting to
the climax, but this one like it started off with
with montages.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
I'm One of the notes that I made was like
the music is oddly pretty good in this movie. It's
it's pretty pretty good, pretty consistent throughout. They do listen
to some eighties tunes in this film that I think
kind of I don't know, enhance it. It's like you
think about it, Like the details in this movie. I
(30:15):
just I come back to being surprised watching it again
in September of twenty twenty five and being like, and
they really put some thought into this. Yeah, this is
a detailed film if you really examine it for all
of its parts. The I've only got a couple of
more notes to get to. I do want to ask,
(30:38):
is there do you is there a particular character that's
your favorite from this film.
Speaker 3 (30:44):
I've just said about Danny may I've always liked Danny
McBride Yea. Rico is great in that just from the
humor aspect of what I like and what is in there,
I really like Rico. I really like Bill Hayter's character.
He's yeah, like he always brings something to the table
that's really funny and awkward, but he was also like
(31:05):
kind of professional, had his day job at the ice
rink or the state whatever, like, but it's also like
he's so silly, but at the same time, like he's
doing math on a calculator with you know, just weird stuff.
But you know, from my general perspective, I feel like
I have to like identify with Rod just because I was.
I was in a similar boat chasing something that was
(31:26):
never gonna happen, didn't have the funds, didn't have the talent,
didn't have the help, and but I still did. I
tried it anyways and on two wheels, just like Rod.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
This is not a popular movie among critics.
Speaker 3 (31:44):
Uh fuck critics. It is in this podcast.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Yeah, of course it has a Rotten Tomato score of
thirty nine percent, breezen silliness, and a few humorous set pieces,
but it's far too inconsistent to satisfy all but the
least demanding slapstick lovers. Again, like, if you don't have
the sense of humor, it's going to be a drastically
(32:08):
different viewing experience. And sometimes I think comedies are what
the critics struggle with the most, because I do think
it's something if you don't relate to it, it can
be off putting.
Speaker 3 (32:22):
I feel like this one crosses boundaries too, though, because
a lot we were talking about earlier with Tim Robinson. Yeah,
my wife can't stand that type of comedy. I love
it now, hot Rod. The copy that we own of
the DVD, it's my wife's copy.
Speaker 2 (32:36):
Oh how about that? Like, there you go.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
It's something we both enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
Yeah, it wasn't a success at the box office. It
cost twenty five million dollars to make this movie, which
kind of surprises me, and it only made fourteen point
four million during its run.
Speaker 3 (32:50):
Well, I would I would say it's probably. I wouldn't
say it's a cult hit. You know, I didn't come
back big.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
I'm sure it made some money on physical.
Speaker 3 (32:59):
Yeah, really still had time for physical media.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Yeah, yeah, so I'd be curious to see if it But.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
What it did for some of those careers, oh man,
and not just the cast, but behind the scenes probably so.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Danny McBride had done The Foot Fist Way in two
thousand and six, and a movie called All the Real Girls,
which is a romantic drama written and directed by David
Gordon Green, who he's worked with a lot, starring Paul Schneider,
Zoey Deschanel, Shay Wigham, and Patricia Clarkson. Never heard of
this movie. The Foot Fist Way I'm with you. I
(33:37):
never I never went back and saw that one. I
know that's one that Brandon.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
I didn't see it before this.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
Oh gotcha. Okay, that's when Brandon's really high on too.
It was like his introduction to Danny McBride and then
he would go on to do he was in the
Heartbreak Kid, the Ben Stiller flick with one of the
both of the Fairly Brothers. I never saw that one either,
(34:03):
but then he would go on to do Drill Bit Taylor,
Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder. The hot Rod was hot Rod,
hot Rod, it was the foot Fist Way and then
hot Rod.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
So I guess, so, I guess that was my introduction
to Dana mcbridey.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Yeah, wow, Land of the Loss would come in two
thousand and nine.
Speaker 3 (34:23):
Wow, that was so close together.
Speaker 2 (34:25):
Yeah, I mean, and then just when.
Speaker 3 (34:27):
Was Eastbounding Down.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
That would have been Eastbounding Down I think was nine, Yeah,
two thousand and nine to twenty thirteen. Yeah, Vice Principals
in twenty sixteen, and then the Righteous Gemstones today. So yeah,
I thought talking about the surprising storytelling aspect of hot
(34:49):
Rod dangling something out there and circling back to it.
I thought the ending was just Chef's kiss, where it's
a payoff for a scene where he's doing like tai
Chi by the Lake with Isla Fisher's character and he
asked her about a move that makes a man crap
his pants, and it seems like just like a throwaway,
(35:11):
funny moment where she performs the move on him. He
shits himself and then pretends that he doesn't but he's
just got to leave. But I thought it was a
really nice payoff to have that be the closing moment
of the film when he actually executes the move on
Frank and Frank shots himself in the driveway and then
that's it in scene. I thought that was a really nice,
(35:34):
smart callback to a seed that they had planned earlier
in the film.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
How about another thing too, I bet was really cool
for the cast at the time, and it just kind
of was underwhelming in there. But she was a staple,
was his mother. But is Sissy space? Yeah, just to
be in this situation is so funny.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
Yeah, and even oh man, I can't think of Frank's
name even, you know, he is a talented actor. Gosh,
what's his name now? Ian McShane, Yeah, that's.
Speaker 3 (36:14):
Right, also too, like harp on this every once in
a while. But it's funny they're in Washington State in
this film, like it that. It's I think it's said
at least if not, just the license plates and all that.
But Danny McBride could be a transplant whatever. He's a
Southern guy. He's got that accent. That's what kind of
(36:34):
what makes it funny when he gets aggressive. But the
guy he gets in a fight with with the the trailer,
he comes out and just his most redneck. So why
is all the aggressive guys have to have to talk? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Yeah, but the hell's going on out here? Yeah? Oh,
it's it's great. Where do you think where do you
think hot Rod fits in the comedies of its era? Yeah,
I don't. I don't know if you could do a
mount Rushmore off the top of your head.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
But you'd have to narrak down for years, I guess.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But we'll just say two thousand to twenty ten that range,
because I I go, I think I do put Step
Brothers up there. I think I go Pineapple Express, probably
put Anchorman in there, and then I think, I don't know,
I think I might put hot Rod in that fourth spot.
Speaker 3 (37:25):
I'm going to old school. Two thousand is it's a
long it's a big range.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
Yeah, when I still made these once every couple of months,
that'd be a good comedy out for sure.
Speaker 3 (37:35):
I know I'm gonna miss m I did like Pineapple
Express just because that next level of quality was there.
It just was a little bit different, more more violent,
just the story it was and it was pretty original,
you know. So I really do like them. But I
think my number one I'm Aunt Rushmore during those years,
just because at the time I was at in life,
(37:56):
the topic and just the joy and it still brings
to my family is Talladega Nights I got up there.
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Super Bad would be up there too.
Speaker 3 (38:07):
Super Bad for sure.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
Yeah, there's too many that.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
It was such a good era it was. And Knocked
Up was that knocked was a great thing.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
I don't know if hot Rod would be on my
Mount Rushmore just because there's so many there. Off the
top of our head what we can remember right now,
I put it on there.
Speaker 2 (38:30):
I think, I I mean step Brothers, Anchorman and Pineapple
Express or three of my four favorite comedies ever. Yeah,
and I was a big dumb and dumber fan too.
That would be my comedy Mount Rushmore, Thumb and Dumber
obviously nineties flick. So if I take that one out,
I think it would come down to super Bad versus
(38:53):
hot Rod for me.
Speaker 3 (38:54):
Yeah, that's good, and.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
I think super Bad is probably the more widely conterd
Hallmark comedy of the decade. Kind of deal. But I
don't know, man, I think hot Rod hot Rod might
have it.
Speaker 3 (39:10):
I don't know. It's close. It's almost like its own
category for me. I think, like when I when I
think of hot Rob, I just those other ones, like
I see aos films like hot Rod was like a
way of life for me, Like yeah, yeah, not that
I'm putting it higher than the others, it's just different
for me. I don't know, Well.
Speaker 2 (39:28):
That's going to do it. I got to the end
of my notes, you got anything else? Empty the clip on?
Speaker 3 (39:33):
Man, I feel like I've got I think one thing
that we didn't hit on, which I thought was hilarious
because you didn't really see it coming. You knew something
was going to happen. But when he's in bubble wrap
and he's like running into training and he's running through
the trees, he's looking around him and reco hits him
with the van with the mattress and strap to the front.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I also I also like the scene, going back to
the physical comedy aspect of it, where he's like, I
need to go to my quiet place, and then it
just shows him out in the world. It's beer smoking,
smoking a cigarette, and then he starts dancing, running around
the forest doing like these absurd gymnastic moves, and then
(40:13):
he just hits his foot on a log and you
just see the music just an abrupt cut and you
just hear shit, yeah, and he flips and starts tumbling
down the side of the mountain.
Speaker 3 (40:23):
You know, I had that scene in my engagement video
as well. I think subconsciously I stole so recreative and
the whole thing was on two wheels too, Like I
think I just made like my own little romantic hot
Rudy show.
Speaker 2 (40:34):
There you go. That's a good, good note for us
to end on. Thank you guys for tuning in to
another episode of the movie Review Rewind podcast. Again. All
of our work covering movies is up at Nashville Movie
Dispatch dot substack dot com. He's outdoor, so bro, I'm
big natural Stony Keeley And until next time you stay
classy moviegoers
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