The very first feature film from Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, aka The Lonely Island, is one that has become a cult classic.
By reader request, this week's Throwback Thursday review is Hot Rod. Great pick here that I was very excited to rewatch on Netflix. I'm a huge fan of Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island, and while I was rewatching Hot Rod, I decided to blend my review of it with a listing of some of my favorite projects by The Lonely Island boys. Comedy is a very subjective movie genre and their style of comedy is quite weird, so if this isn't your thing I totally get it. I believe Andy Samberg and the boys are single-handedly responsible for my generation's comedy being so weird and I love them for embracing the fact that they are a bunch of weirdos, just like the rest of us.
Hot Rod came out in 2007 as some type of mix between Jackass, The Lonely Island, and Napoleon Dynamite. The cast included some of the best comedians of the time (and still today) in Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone, Will Arnett, and Chris Parnell. For me, the beginning and end of the movie are very funny, and it falls a little flat in the middle, but this movie is a brisk hour and a half. Any movie that wraps up in under 2 hours gets bonus points from this guy. It has some very funny parts, but sometimes they get overshadowed by ridiculous silliness, which is completely on brand for Lonely Island. It never takes itself seriously and all of the characters are funny and likeable. Even the "bad guy" (Arnett) has my favorite line in the movie.
If you like watching Andy Samberg make a fool out of himself and fall down a lot then you will love his performance as Rod Kimble, amateur stuntman on a quest to jump 15 school buses and raise $50,000 to pay for the heart transplant that his step dad Frank (Ian McShane) needs. His team of Hader, McBride, Taccone, and Isla Fisher help him prepare for the big jump. The "training" to get his body in peak physical shape is very funny and so is the final jump, but my favorite scene, and the one that makes me laugh the most happens after Rod finds out that Frank is sick. He goes into the forest and dance fights in a scene ripped straight out of Footloose.
Him tripping and falling down the side of a mountain makes me belly laugh every single time. Ian McShane is the cherry on top of this movie. He is so out of place with these SNL comedians but at the same time, absolutely perfect in his role. Hader and McBride have some really funny lines and Jorma is priceless as Rod's step brother Kevin. Besides the characters, another reason I enjoy this movie is that you really pull for Rod. At the end of the day, he's an ambitious Evel Knievel wannabe with a fake mustache, riding on a moped trying to get some money and win over the girl. Hot Rod was a launching pad for The Lonely Island. It shows off their weirdness that we see in their music and short skits that they did for Saturday Night Live. It was really ahead of it's time and it took a long time for Hot Rod to be appreciated, but it finally is, and you can watch it on Netflix right now.
It's no secret that I'm a Lonely Island fan. Two years ago they were one of my top 5 artists on my Spotify year in review because most of their music absolutely slaps. From their start doing SNL short skits to big screen movies like Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, I like almost all of their work. I've compiled a list of some of my favorite things they have done (in no particular order).
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Popstar is my favorite thing The Lonely Island has ever done. It's a mockumentary comedy that follows Conner (Samberg) after he leaves his boy band, The Style Boyz, and makes fun of the music industry along the way. Cameos from musicians include: Justin Timberlake, Adam Levine, Usher, Nas, Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, Pink, Akon, ASAP Rocky, and probably more that I'm forgetting. It is absolutely hilarious and a must watch. And the music is amazing.
The Shooting AKA Dear Sister
The Shooting AKA Dear Sister is a parody of a scene from a popular teen drama, The O.C., in which a girl shoots a guy to save someone while "Mmmm Whatcha Say" plays. It's ridiculous to watch and in this SNL digital short Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Shia LaBeouf make it even more ridiculous. Throw in Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, and Fred Armisen and you've got the best SNL digital short of all time.
YOLO
I had to put YOLO on this post simply because of the times we are living in right now. A song with lines including, "there's no such thing as too much Purell" and "don't go outside 'cause you don't wanna die" seems very appropriate. Kendrick Lamar lays down a great third verse and Adam Levine is on the hook, it's a banger. Plus during my senior year of high school in 2013 when this came out, everyone was living by the YOLO motto.
The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience
The newest project from The Lonely Island that released on Netflix last year is the Bash Brothers Experience. This is two posts in a row that the Oakland A's have been prominent after last week's Moneyball talk. Andy Samberg plays Jose Canseco and Akiva Schaffer is Mark McGwire in this rap album/visual poem type thing. It is very funny and my favorite track is Oakland Nights with Sterling K. Brown lip syncing to a Sia song.
Lazy Sunday
And finally, the OG SNL digital short, Lazy Sunday. Saturday Night Live had become slow and stagnant in 2005 when they dropped this digital short that helped to revive the program (a revival that has since ended because SNL is utter garbage now). It also helped to boost Youtube's popularity as Lazy Sunday was an internet smash. It's a rap all about how Samberg and his SNL co-star Chris Parnell want to eat cupcakes and watch The Chronicles of Narnia and it is really funny. And never forget that Andy Samberg rapped about Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton way before it was cool in this.
So there you have a review of Hot Rod (on Netflix right now) and some great skits/movies/music from The Lonely Island. There are PLENTY of others that I love but are hard to talk about while keeping things mostly PG. The Natalie Portman Raps and what I call the Justin Timberlake trilogy are some that come to mind. Also if you have Hulu, Andy Samberg stars in a show called Brooklyn 99 that is one of the best comedy shows of all time and you should definitely check it out. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of Hot Rod. I am open to all streaming suggestions on any platform for the next Throwback Thursday Review. Just leave a comment and be sure to like and subscribe to Drive in Double!
YOLO
- BH
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