Hot Rod
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: August 3, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
43
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
10
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
Hot Rod is a cousin to the comedies of Will Ferrell (for whom it was developed) with a younger skew, a kooky '80s nostalgia (complete with a pitch-perfect synthesizer score by Trevor Rabin) and a low-key amiability that keeps you rooting for Rod and company to triumph. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Rod is played by Andy Samberg from "Saturday Night Live," who on the basis of this film, I think, could become a very big star. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
For connoisseurs of stupidity, Hot Rod is that perfect delicacy: A silly movie about ridiculous characters that's also actually funny. Hilarious, even. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Just funny enough. Read full review
75
PremiereJonah Weiner
The fantasy here – dubious as life choices go, but great for a 90-minute comedy – is that you can stay 16 forever. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesSusan Carpenter
A cheekily fun sendup of Gen X iconography. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Hot Rod keeps a sweet tone that's filled with affection for its characters, and enough laughs to become this summer's most mildly recommendable comedy. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
A little like a leisurely surf through YouTube. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
If the movie weren't so playfully dumb -- did you ever think you'd see Ian McShane throw Andy Samberg through a basement shelving unit? -- this would be exasperating. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
Wait until the best parts pop up on YouTube. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneJessica Reaves
Sure, it's funny, mainly because it's utterly absurd and meandering. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia Puig
In what universe would you expect to see Andy Samberg, Ian McShane and Sissy Spacek in the same movie? You have to give the makers of Hot Rod credit for creative and unlikely casting. But the credit pretty much ends there. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
An inferior "Napoleon Dynamite." Call it Napoleon Firecracker. The film steals one of the best laughs of Jon Heder's surprise 2004 hit, the scene where Napoleon nosedives over a bicycle jump, and stretches the gag into an 86-minute movie. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Samberg can't carry this, though director Akiva Schaffer supplies some hilarious, "Jackass"-style wipeouts and there are nice supporting turns from Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) as Rod's love interest and Bill Hader as one of his goofball friends. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Hot Rod is a stupid movie about stupid people doing stupid things. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Unfortunately, the gags start to wear thin shortly around the 15-minute mark, not to mention the fact that they pale in comparison to the real-life indignities endured by the members of the "Jackass" crew. Read full review
40
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Only fitfully amusing. More often, it feels like a mediocre attempt to reprise the central elements of the infinitely funnier "Napoleon Dynamite." Read full review
40
VarietyPeter Debruge
Those hoping for feature-length doses of Samberg's "Lazy Sunday" wit will have to settle for just plain lazy, as Hot Rod aims low and still manages to miss its target. Read full review
40
Village VoiceScott Foundas
Like so many movies from the SNL factory, there are perhaps 10 to 15 minutes of good, gag-worthy material here stretched out to interminable lengths. Or to put it another way: It's a very small dick in an oversized box. Read full review
38
Rolling StonePeter Travers
I laughed, then I wished it was funnier, then I just wished it would end. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
In fairness, the new movie from the Lorne Michaels machine does have its amusing moments. It's just most of them can also be found in "Napoleon," "Talladega Nights," "Eagle vs. Shark," and any installment of "Jackass." Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Hot Rod might be called the poor man’s “Eagle vs. Shark” if “Eagle vs. Shark” were not already the poor man’s “Napoleon Dynamite.” It certainly lacks the conceptual purity and aesthetic integrity of the “Jackass” movies. In any case poor certainly describes the quality of the filmmaking. Read full review
30
Film ThreatMichael Ferraro
There are enough laughs here to fill a five-minute skit but sadly, the film lasts a lot longer than that. Read full review
25
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Once again, something that might have been a faintly amusing sketch on "Saturday Night Live" -- maybe even a tolerable 30-minute short, had the writing been more clever -- gets tortured into the shape of a feature film. Read full review
25
New York PostKyle Smith
Hot Rod started to go wrong at about the time someone in casting said, "You know what? I'll bet America's just about ready for the comedy stylings of Sissy Spacek." Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Hot Rod never establishes its own personality. Read full review
16
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The filmmakers lack any visual sense of humor and any talent for sustaining long-form comedy; the stunts have less wallop than a TV bloopers show and the Oedipal family slapstick goes around in circles, in more ways than one. Read full review
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