Hit & Run

It looks like Hit & Run was a lot of fun to make. Watching it, you get the impression that the actors are a bunch of friends who just decided to get together, and make a goofy comedy action movie in the style of those 70s and 80s car chase pictures that used to star Burt Reynolds, like Cannonball Run or Smokey and the Bandit. That's great and all, and the movie is kind of fun in a silly way. But boy, is it ever thin stuff. I have a feeling the actors will have better memories about making this movie than audiences will have about watching it.

The movie is the pet project of comic actor, Dax Shepard, who not only stars in the film, but also wrote the script, and co-directed the film along with David Palmer. He cast his girlfriend, Kristen Bell, in the female lead, which was a good idea, as they do have obvious chemistry during their scenes together. He then cast a bunch of his actor friends in the supporting roles, including Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold, Kristen Chenoweth, Michael Rosenbaum, and Beau Bridges. There are more recognizable actors in smaller roles, which turns the movie into a game of which celebrity is going to pop up in the movie next. I'm sure a great time was had by all on the set, but why couldn't the script give these actors actual characters to play? Outside of Shepard and Bell, we learn very little about these people, other than they're goofballs who like to drive really fast cars. This film starts out amusing, as we listen to Shepard and Bell's witty dialogue. But then the plot kicks in, and the car chases take over.

Shepard plays a man who goes by the name of Charlie Bronson. That's not his real name, because he's been in the Witness Protection program the past few years after he testified against some criminals. At least, that's what his girlfriend, Annie (Bell) thinks. As it later turns out, he has a closer tie to the criminals he helped put behind bars other than just testifying against them. But, before all that, Annie gets a job interview in Los Angeles. It's the chance of a lifetime. Not wanting to lose her, Charlie decides to break away from the accident-prone U.S. marshal who has been hired to protect him (Tom Arnold), and drive Annie to L.A.

It should be a simple drive, but Annie has to make a quick stop at her ex-boyfriend's house (Michael Rosenbaum) to get something before they leave. This is a mistake, as the ex has always been suspicious of Charlie's criminal past, and after a quick search on the Internet, learns that the guy has connections with a notorious bank robber named Alex Dimitry (Bradley Cooper). Turns out Charlie didn't just rat on the guy, he was his former getaway driver. Alex has been hungry for revenge since getting out of prison, and when he finds out from the ex that Charlie is on his way to L.A., he sends his gang after the couple. Also pursuing Charlie and Annie is the previously mentioned U.S. marshal, and two local sheriffs, one of whom is gay for the sole fact that someone felt the movie needed a comedic gay character in its cast of oddballs.

Hit & Run is quirky and weird, but seldom funny, and that's the big problem. It thinks it's funny just because its characters are strange. It throws weirdos, redneck gay cops, and a sex orgy made up out of elderly people into the mix, and expects us to laugh just at the sight of them. Maybe we smile a few times, but we seldom laugh. Actually, I laughed the most during the opening scenes introducing us to Charlie and Annie, because they have a comfortable, sweet, and witty relationship with each other. I would have been happy if the screenplay had just focused on these characters. I liked them, and the movie seemed to be building to an offbeat romantic comedy angle that seemed kind of different.

Then the characters hit the road, and my heart sunk with each passing minute. While the film remains watchable and pleasant, it just simply runs out of any inspiration. Instead of characters and witty dialogue, we get a lot of car chases. I don't know about you, but I do not find cars driving around really fast, or flying off of things funny. I also didn't find it funny that the Tom Arnold character is so unlucky and accident-prone that he crashes his car in nearly every scene he's in. By the end of the movie, the thing looks like a wreck. Are we supposed to be laughing at the vehicular damage? I suppose people who are really into cars will enjoy these scenes. They can point out what the characters are driving, and get to see some of them get smashed up really good.

I also have to take issue with the casting of Bradley Cooper as the villain. He simply is not intimidating here, not even when he's strangling a guy and forcing him to eat dog food. Whenever he's supposed to be confronting Shepard's character, they seem like they're having friendly banter, not bitter enemies. And when he kidnaps his girlfriend, we don't really fear for her, because his heart doesn't even seem to be in it. This kind of role calls for an actor with manic energy, and Cooper is simply too safe and mild. Everybody else fills out their roles well enough, with no one really standing out. I mentioned that Shepard and Bell had good chemistry together, and they do. Made me want to see them in a movie where they could fully exploit it.

Hit & Run is not an awful movie. It's light, silly entertainment, and if you should happen to see it on a boring afternoon, it will kill some time. I just wanted more laughs to go with the silliness. If anything, this movie proves that there's more to making a successful film than just the actors having fun. The audience has to be let in on the fun. There are moments where we feel like we're in on it, but most of the time, I felt like the actors were all sharing a private joke between them that I didn't fully understand.

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