Movie review: Hit and Run
IF Grand Theft Auto and a screwball comedy got together and had a baby, Hit and Run would be the love child.
The ricochet road trip begins when former getaway driver (Dax Shepard) living quietly under witness protection in Northern California has to return to LA and face his old life after his girlfriend (Kristen Bell) is offered her dream job.
Cue bumbling cops, unhinged romantic rivals and crazy bank robbers who all pose obstacles along the way.
The cast are clearly having a ball throughout and the chemistry between real life love birds Shepard and Bell is sublime as they bounce lines off one another like Olympic table tennis players.
An almost unrecognizable Bradley Cooper decked out in dreadlocks and aviators is the stand-out as the hot tempered bank robber, owning the role with a hefty dose of deadeyed meanness.
The script is sharp and punchy, gloriously goofy and abounds in fantastic one-liners and well executed dialogues about topical and thought provoking issues.
Amidst the humor and madcappery, the film has plenty to say about trust, transformation and the mechanics of love.
But for all its great moments and clever quips and one-liners, the underlying problem with Hit and Run is it sets out to be both crass and yet compassionate.
But Shepard's inexperience as a writer is unfortunately a little too obvious and while he attempts to take moves out of the Judd Apatow playbook he doesn't quite manage to pull them off.
Just like the bumbling marshal Tom Arnold, the tone is all over the place, the pace wobbly and the structure a little unbalanced.
The fusion of comedy and compassion is jolty and jarring like a dodgem car that never quite finds its rhythm.
Hit and Run is a little hit and miss but is still quite the enjoyable ride.
Hit and Run
- Stars: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold
- Director: David Palmer, Dax Shepard
- Rated: MA15+
- Verdict: Three stars
