Hit & Run 1½/4 A movie review by James Berardinelli
For an action comedy, it’s generally advisable that the movie be (a) exciting, (b) funny, or (c) both of the above. In the case of Hit & Run, the unfortunate choice is (d) none of the above.
A slow, meandering misfire of a movie, this co-directorial production of David Palmer and Dax Shepard tries hard to achieve a Quentin Tarantino vibe (consider the sequence focused on the ingredients of an inferior brand of dog food) but doesn’t do a good job. It’s like Mozart being interpreted by someone who’s tone-deaf. (I’m sure Tarantino would get a kick out being compared to Mozart.) And the ending is so flaccid that it takes a few minutes to realize that the climax has come and gone. (Women may be more familiar with that experience than men.)
Some of Hit & Run’s comedy is just plain strange. Although “strange” does not necessarily equate to “funny,” there’s a penchant for quirkiness. Consider, for example, the hotel room occupied by a group of old naked fat people. (Note: in the trailer, they have been given CGI underwear, but there’s not of that in the movie – sort of like Natalie Portman’s chainmail bikini.) That’s where Hit & Run earns the “nudity” in its rating content description. The scene isn’t really funny (unless you find out-of-shape human bodies to be funny, which I suppose is possible – think Kathy Bates in About Schmidt) but it is unusual. Most of the material with Tom Arnold, whose character exists exclusively for comedic purposes, is more annoying than amusing.
watch the trailer…
