Hit & Run Reviews

Alex Dimitri: Hey, hey, Clint? Why don't you think of this gun as a microphone? When it's not in your hand, you shut the fuck up. Okay?

"A Comedy That Never Takes Its Foot Off The Gas"

Hit & Run was somewhat of a surprise to me. When you see a movie that has Dax Shepherd not only in the leading role, but also directing and writing; it's hard to expect anything better than terrible. Surprisingly though, Dax wasn't too bad in front of the camera or behind it. The movie is nothing to get too excited about, but it's also a pretty good amount of fun and it's helped by a pretty good little supporting cast including: Kristen Bell, Tom Arnold, and Bradley Cooper. 

Charlie Bronson is under witness protection. Four years ago he testified against his then friends and bank robbers, whom Yul(Charlie's original name) drove the getaway car for. When his girlfriend gets a job offer in his old home town of Los Angeles, Charlie decides to go with her. Anne's former boyfriend begins tailing them and calls up Alex(one of the people Charlie testified against) to let him know that he knows where Yul is. Also on the path of Charlie is a US Marshall who is supposed to be making sure that Charlie is all right. 

It would be fair to call Hit & Run just another action comedy, which it basically is; but there's also a rom-com formula at play here too. It's sort of a cross between an action comedy, a road movie, and a romance film. Crossing those genres doesn't really bring out too much originality though, but it does make the film more interesting. 

Hit & Run ended up being a fun ride, and in the end, that's all it really needed to do. This isn't a movie that you'll find a lot of purpose in watching, but it is a nice little hour and a half diversion. Also, if you're like me, the only excuse you need for giving this a try is that Bradley Cooper is in it; and with dreads no less.

three stars

"Hit and Run" has cult item written all over it. I can see many a viewer appreciating it's brand of humor and 70s B-movie styling... but I didn't. It feels more like a passion project among friends (and lovers) than it does a movie made for audiences; which is to say it was most definitely a lot of fun to make. Watching it is something else entirely.

A lot of the films problems lie on the shoulders of it's two leads, Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell. Shepard (who has been good in a handful of films and especially on TV's "Parenthood") comes of as completely dull and unlikable here. He's a charmless lead, and as both writer/ director, it was unwise for him to salvage all of the best material for Tom Arnold and Bradley Cooper (both really fun to watch here). Kristen Bell (great in "Veronica Mars and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall") completely misses the mark. She turns in one of the most annoying performances I've seen in a while. She's a likable actress who deserves much better than such witless material.

The film's other fatal flaw is Dax Shepard the writer/ director. He clumsily handles both dialogue (self aware to a fault) and the films abysmal action sequences. Why was the film marketed so heavily on the car chase? The automotive scenes in this film are poor, unenergetic time wasters. It wouldn't have been a bad idea to hire the likes of Justin Lin for the second unit; no matter the cost.

The film does have it's minor redeeming qualities (like some funny jokes, visual gags, and Bradley Cooper's hair), but they are few and far between and don't nearly make up for the film's many blunders. "Hit and Run" isn't a good movie, nor a passable piece of entertainment, but for better or worse it does enough to ensure it'll find some following of some kind. Count me out.

"I think Dax and Bell are really cute together and they are great together on screen as well. I enjoyed the movie. It's a lot of fun. The cast is good in this too. And there was some surprise appearances by some well known actors that popped up through the film as well. Cooper is funny in this. I liked his character, even if he is the bad guy. I liked the relationship between Charlie and Annie. There is plenty of car chasing action too with some nice rides. There isn't as much humor as I was hoping, but there are still plenty of funny moments. I would see it again."

A comedy that never takes its foot off the gas.

Good Movie! "Hit and Run" serves predominantly as a showcase for the comedic style of its creator, actor Dax Shepard. Shepard's filmmaking debut, "Brother's Justice," which he also co-directed with partner David Palmer in 2010, went silently, but here he's convinced his fiancée, Kristen Bell, to co-star and snagged another A-lister in Bradley Cooper to elevate the film's profile. Film has enough action set pieces to hold my attention, enough one-liners to make us laugh our asses off, the classic cars looked good, and a good climactic chase. The nudity in the motel scene was horrific. And horrifically funny.

HIT AND RUN is a comedy about a young couple ('Kristen Bell' and Dax Shepard) that risks it all when they leave their small town life and embark on a road trip that may lead them towards the opportunity of a lifetime. Their fast-paced road trip grows awkwardly complicated and hilarious when they are chased by a friend from the past ('Bradley Cooper' ), a federal marshal ('Tom Arnold' ) and a band of misfits.

Hit & Run is one of those comedies that are underrated and it turns out to be a much better film than what critics have said about it. Yes, it has plenty of imperfections, but there`s still enough good comedic elements to make this a comedy worth seeing. Dax Shephard delivers his funniest film role since Idiocracy. The jokes here are funny, mindless and stupid, and there`s a few unforgettable scenes. I personally feel that the film didn`t deserve all the flack it has received. I found this film to be entertaining from start to finish, and though it wasn`t on par with other comedies this year, it still was a very fun and wacky ride. The cast do a good job here, and they are able to pull off something good despite the average script. There are a few weak aspects, but overall I really enjoyed it. This is a romantic comedy with a truly refreshing twist, and it works well enough to make this a surprising comedic yarn. Go into this one expecting mindless entertainment, action and good enough laughs to make you lose yourself into the film`s crazy idea. There are plenty of effective moments to enjoy and Hit & Run may not be a perfect comedy, but it definitely isn`t the worst of the year. For a low budget, independent film, Hit & Run manages to get quite a few good laughs, and this is an overlooked film that is worth checking out. The film could have been refined, but there`s enough charm here to keep you interested from beginning to end. There are many good things going for this film, more than what the critics say. Enjoyable and fun for what it is.

"Hit and Run" is a comedy/action movie about a couple(Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard) that leave a small town to go to L.A. Sounds easy enough, right? Well it would be except Bell's ex boyfriend is obsessed with her, and her new man(Shepard) is actually in the witness protection agency for testifying about a robbery that took place in L.A. Her ex finds out this information and contacts people in L.A. to try to stop them. This is a very uneven movie. There is some funny moments, but the dialogue is all over the place and so are the characters. One second Dax and Bell are talking lovey dovey, then the next arguing over the word Fag, then fighting, it's like their both bi-polar. The best character is played Bradley Cooper, he has the best scene at a grocery store with a guy buying bad dog food. That said, Cooper isn't a very good sell as a ruthless criminal, he just comes off as too nice of a guy, especially with his dread-lock look. The movie also has Tom Arnold in a role that is meant solely for the slapstick type of humor, it's funny, but it really is out of place with the rest of the movie. Worth a watch if it's free, but I don't think it's really worth spending money on.

Funny as hell with some heart behind it. Full review later.

Hit and Run was a labor of love for actor Dax Shephard. He wrote the script, co-directed the film, did plenty of his own car stunts, edited the film, and got his longtime girlfriend, the irascible Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) to co-star as his love interest. I just wish the movie were better. It's something of a strange mix, a road chase that sips along to loping comedic rhythms, spending as much time having characters engage in self-aware conversations about a variety of topics. It's like a rom-com with car chases. Shepard and Bell are terrific together and have a natural comedic chemistry to them, an ease that befits both of their acting styles. Then there's some of the more troubling comedic moments, like when the villainous Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) literally ties a leash around a black man and forces him to eat dog food. It's one uncomfortable scene to watch. Then there are sudden bursts of violence and nudity, to go along with the bizarre conversational tangents. The plot is a loose collection of near-misses and digressive asides. It wants to be one of those 70s car chase comedies, something along the likes of a raunchier Smokey and the Bandit. This movie does keep you guessing, but it rarely adds up to anything worth all the trouble. Car enthusiasts will probably enjoy all the vehicular eye candy, and I'm happy to see Bell tackle a meatier role than she seems to be offered at this time, but I can't work up more than a half-hearted shrug for Hit and Run. It looks good but just has nowhere to go.

Nate's Grade: C+

This is what happens when a group of friends get together and have a couple million bucks to spend. I nothing this movie. I just hope they had a fun time making it.

Hit & Run is an action-comedy full of laughs and adventure from writer/director Dax Shepard. The story follows a former bank robber in Witness Protection who promises to take his girlfriend to a job interview in LA, but to get there he'll have to elude the criminal gang that he's been hiding from. The cast has a lot of strong comedic talent, including Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, and Tom Arnold. Shepard and Bell in particular have good chemistry and play well off of each other. And aside from a preoccupation with homosexuality, the comedy's well writing. But the film gets a bit formulaic, and the payoffs are rather weak. There are some bumps in the road, but Hit & Run is an entertaining ride that's pretty fun.

Hit & Run has its funny moments that we laugh and remember, but ultimately it's a comedy that just didn't work for me. I mean it has a lot of great elements like the violent humor, the funny actors, and even the occasional WTF scenes. But I just never found myself to be engaged in the story or loving the characters, it just seemed like that comedy that we would forget after a day but just remember a few funny parts. This kind of comedy is good for some people, and it's definitely better than that Adam Sandler crap that I have to sit through all the time, but for me there was just not much that separates it from other comedies. Dax Sheperd tries his hand at directing and writing this movie, and it really surprised me that the guy from Parenthood is going to try and make a movie, and I actually think he has the potential to make a great comedy. Sure this wasn't great, but I believe he did very well for a first time director and I can see him making some very promising comedies in the future. I also hated the car chase scenes, I mean after seeing the Fast and the Furious movies there really isn't much that they can do and I found it pointless to even have it in here. Some people will enjoy Hit & Run but it just wasn't for me.

The story follows an ex-getaway driver flees from determined feds and vicious gangsters after quitting the witness-protection program in order to drive his girlfriend to her new job in Los Angeles. Once upon a time, Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard) was a getaway wheelman for a quick-triggered gang of bank robbers, comprised of unpredictable Alex (Bradley Cooper), smoldering mastermind Neve (Joy Bryant), and their sharp-dressed sidekick (Ryan Hansen). But after being placed in the Witness Protection Program and falling for pretty Annie (Kristen Bell), Charlie's criminal past has faded into the rearview mirror. When Annie lands an interview for her dream job in L.A., Charlie vows that she won't be late, and they hit the road in his custom-built muscle car. Charlie just hopes she doesn't discover the truth of his past.

The plot was predictable and the characters were forgettable, but the jokes weren't half bad. I mean sure its slob and stupid humor but it's so out of its own mind that we can't help but have a few shock laughs. But I really cared about what was happening in the movie and I was just checking my watch to see how much I had left to watch. I mean when you have to give Bradley Cooper dreadlocks than I think we can all agree that something happened behind-the-scenes that they are not telling us. We have the potential to make a good comedy, but the first hour of this film is so boring that it almost had be tired, and then things start happening. Once the story really kicks into gear you are slightly interested, but we all know in the end everything is going to turn out ok so we don't really care what happens next. I wasn't expecting such incredible, but it could've been so much more.

The cast had its ups and down, but in reality it was the highlight of the film. Dax Sheperd is a likeable actor and I can tell in real life he is a down to earth guy and just a fun man, and I liked him for it in this film. Kristen Bell has been one of my least favorite actresses since When in Rome, but I think she had redeemed herself in this film a bit by giving a role that was not annoying and made me actually feel sympathy for her. Bradley Cooper had the best laughs in the film, and although his dreadlocks were pointless I still felt like his moments really brought fun to the screen and I enjoyed him. Beau Bridges really brought some great scenes, and I loved the pain his car went through in the film. A funny cast that saved the film from being a total failure.

Hit & Run seemed like it meant to do well and give the audience some good laughs, but it just didn't end up working for me. I had to turn around when I saw the motel scene where they walk in on a group naked old people... twice. I think some people will see a joy in this comedy that I just didn't understand, but I will admit that I did laugh and it was a decent comedy from a first time director. It has a lot of gross out humor and it really knows how people want to see stupid and violent comedies, but there is a lot you must do to make a comedy film be great. I consider a great comedy to have a silly and interesting story, characters that are actually fun and interesting, and jokes that just stick in our minds because they have such a silly way of presenting it. If you love violence, naked old people, and Bradley Cooper in dreadlocks than you will have a better time than I did at this movie.
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In the 70s, studios like Crown International Pictures and used to make cheap exploitation films with such titles as MALIBU HIGH and THE POM POM GIRLS. If you look back at trashy films like these and think, "They don't make 'em like they used to", then HIT AND RUN may just be the film for you. A road movie with crazy souped-up cars, light bloodshed, and an ensemble of ultra-quirky characters, the film gets our characters from point A to point B with an insane amount of quirky obstacles along the way. It also reminded me a little of FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, but with a much lower FUNNY quotient. Depending on how you look at it, it's either a Witness Protection caper or the story of a guy driving his girlfriend to a job interview. Both are valid, yet we ALL know which one is more fun to watch.

All told, this is one strange film. It's not anywhere near as funny as it wants to be, but it has an infectious spirit to it. Dax Shepard and David Palmer throw in the kitchen sink here in an attempt to see what sticks. We've got Tarantino-esque moments where characters stop the action to thoroughly dissect prison rape. We have a quirky gay subplot involving a GRINDR-like app and a hilariously high-string, completely undone Tom Arnold. Sheperd and real-life girlfriend, Kristen Bell, have some pretty good Apatow-like chemistry. There are the requisite oddball cameos by the likes of Kristin Chenowith, Beau Bridges, and Sean Hayes.

While the laughs rarely landed, when they did, they had an outrageous and surprising quality. It was enough to give me a goofy grin throughout. Bonus points for the oft-repeated motif of muscle cars doing donuts and peeling off.

More Hit and miss than Take the Money & Run, this C-List romp isn't exactly high and tight when it comes to scripting and casting. Oh, there are times when higher-minded moviegoers might think, "This COULD be as good as actor Zach Braff's stellar film writing/directing debut, Garden State." But then again, Braff's cinematic coming out amounted to nothing, which goes double for this Smoked & the Bandied cop-out. There are some good lines--just not in the correct order nor spoken by the right actors. Instead of being a modern but stylishly cool Cannonball Run, this is ultimately just a speed trap for the supporting players and audience's time.

In this R-rated action comedy, a former getaway driver (Shepard) jeopardizes his Witness Protection identity to safely deliver his girlfriend (Bell) to LA with some old bank-robbing cronies (Bradley Cooper, et al) in pursuit.

Kristen Bell is lovely and on-the-mark. Her co-stars, however, are scraggly and sadly miscast. This is Dax Shepard's baby and, by putting himself in the fray as star and director as well as writer, he's given this movie the equivalent of shaken baby syndrome. Never mind the fact his perpetual doofus shtick along with A-list co-star Bradley Cooper prove about as badass as Joe Besser playing 3rd fiddle in the 3 Stooges--this '70s chase throwback needed some serious rewrites before hitting the screen. Namely, it needed to be re-written with witty dialogue and re-cast with stars capable of running and gunning with a Grindhouse-riffing chase flick rather than just spinning its wheels.

Bottom line: Formula Ugh.

In the category of mindless funny entertainment it works fine. Sheppard brings back the car chase movie and assembles a amusing cast. Cooper makes a great villain and I was entertained while being in a mood of wanting a mindless watchable film.

02-09-2013

I am likely in the minority on this one, and am now sad to see it didn't garner much recognition in its initial run, but ultimately happy I was able to see this film and truly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It is one of those light, action adventure comedies you could truly slip in at any point in time and know it is going to satisfy whatever entertainment desire you have. It is the fun, goofy tale of Charlie (Dax Shepard who also wrote and co-directed the film) a guy in the witness protection program and his now lovely little life with Annie (Shepard's real-life girlfriend Kristen Bell) and his protection officer Randy (Tom Arnold). It is when Annie gets the opportunity to teach at a university in LA that Charlie has to bite his lip and venture into a city that risks exposing himself to the people he testified against who are now free. Obviously, hijinks are going to ensue once the couple hit the road and they do with a fair amount of hilarity and witty dialogue. Close friends of the writer/director such as Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, and Beau Bridges show up throughout the film and provide some nice moments as does some of the stunt driving that clearly doesn't haven't the biggest to go on, but they make it work. In many ways it is a throw back to those films of the 70's, those kind of exploitation films, this is very much in the same vein as that. We get a set of interesting characters and send them on a road trip that has plenty of ridiculous obstacles in the way of them getting from point A to point B. You could easily call this pointless or unnecessary, but it is a fun bit of escapism that has action, souped-up cars, and nice patches of comedy. More than worth a rental, hit and run is not a hit and miss.

When Kristen Bell first opened her mouth in this film, she reminded me of every girl I've dumped or been annoyed with. I know Dax Sheppard and her wanted to make this film together, but maybe they should have kept this in the video camera and out of the hands of the public. I don't know why the movie was titled Hit & Run. There wasn't a hit and run in it at all. Bradley Cooper soiled himself with this film wearing a wig that made him look like he wanted to hide himself from within the film and Tom Arnold was a caricature of himself. Many of the car chases were easily readable as setups that were just glossed over tracks made for a movie. The premise was not attractive at all.

Dax Shepherd's passion shows through in his pet project "Hit & Run", in which he writes, directs, and acts, alongside his lovely wife, Kristen Bell. An almost perfect blend of comedy mixed with action, the humor is well-paced and laugh-out-loud while the car chase scenes are a sight to behold. Heading into the film with somewhat low expectations, I enjoyed almost every second of this film. Released by a major distributor (Open Road Films), Shepherd's film has more of a look and feel of a heartfelt Indie.

Simple without trying too hard. Shepard and Kristen Bell share some sharp lines and the supporting cast put to good use.