Hit & Run (2012)

There's always the movie and the "movie" behind making the movie. I liked them both. I watched the film twice. Dax Sheppard is hilarious! Bravo to him for putting it together. He conceived a baby and made it grow. "Hit and Run" is a fun ride. Knowing what went into making the film made it all the more fun to watch. He used his own girl, his own cars, his own friends, and his own script. This is not always recommended. In fact, most of the time it's highly discouraged because it is often laced with conceit. But when the effort is laced with love, there is a much better chance of making it work. That's the case with "Hit and Run". I love this movie because I felt the love that went into making it. And it's funny too. Hearing Bradly Cooper tell about taking one for the team and Dax's character's reaction is priceless!

Hit and Run is written, directed and stars Dax Shepard as 'Charles Bronson' - a man who lives under the Witness Protection Scheme, but leaves his newfound identity to drive his girlfriend across America to get to an important job interview in Los Angeles.It's a road movie where he falls foul with just about everyone he comes to meet (and has met), leading them to chase him until the bitter end.If you read the other reviews, you'll find that people either love or hate the film. Some find it completely unfunny, while others describe it as the perfect (low-budget) date movie. I'm somewhere in the middle. I certainly didn't find it a classic. There were some funny moments, but they were too thin on the ground for the film to fall into an out and out comedy, plus Tom Arnold's character was just trying too hard to be whacky and just ended up being annoying. However, no matter how annoying his character was, he was easy to get along with compared to the leading lady. She came across as 'whiter than white' and way too preachy.A lot of people have pointed to its dialogue being 'too politically correct' and bashed the movie for being nothing more than 'liberal propaganda.' I didn't really pick up on this, but apparently it annoyed quite a few people.All in all, it's not a bad film. It has its funny moments and a few exciting chases. Bradley Cooper shines in every scene he's in (clearly enjoying playing something other than his 'good-boy' image), but he's not in it enough.It's not a bad way to spend an evening, although it could possibly be a little shorter, as it does tend to drag in the middle.

While shopping at my local Best Buy, I saw a copy of Hit and Run sitting on the shelf and I just decided to give it a try. I had nothing to lose and nothing to really fear. I figured it would be a light comedy with a lot of action to hold my attention for a good 90 minutes. I came home, pressed play, and watched it. I don't really know how I feel about it. Its not a bad movie, per se. I certainly didn't have a bad time. I was just puzzled at what I had just watched. Its a gooey rom-com with a few intense car chase sequences, peppered with raunchy dialog. Just... so weird! I'll give credit to Dax Shepard for making a totally original slant on an otherwise overdone plot line. But then, once you get past the plot, it gets weirder. The acting, for the most part, is decent. But sometimes, it gets downright terrible. Take for instance, Tom Arnold. He literally shouts his entire dialog and spends most of the movie running wildly around screen with a gun in his hand. Why? I have no idea. Were they going for absurdist humor with that character? or was Tom Arnold just coked up? Whatever the reason, I grew to hate his character... a lot. Then, literally, for no reason whatsoever, we get two scenes involving the main characters stumbling into an elderly orgy. What on god's green earth was that all about? Its as if the movie was spliced together with outtakes from a Sacha Baron Cohen movie, and they figured it would be so shocking, that it just had to be in the movie for a good laugh. It just sat there, dead on screen, in its wrinkly birthday suit. I didn't laugh. Alright, enough with the questions. Lets get down to business. I thought the movie potentially worked and I did laugh more times than I ever thought I would. There is some really funny stuff in here, and its worth checking out to catch them all. I liked Dax Shepard, considering that he was channeling an Owen Wilson type performance. Kristen Bell is always a pleasure to watch watch on screen. We also get a delightfully bizarre performance from Bradley Cooper that entertained me a whole lot. Especially the scene at the supermarket... what an absolutely fantastic scene that was. All in all, Hit and Run is hit and miss, and definitely surreal at times. But not a bad outing at the movies.

Hit & Run is such a gem of a low budget fun thrill ride that it is inspiring to watch. The film has high production values and a couple of well known actors in Bradley Cooper and Tom Arnold. There's also place for some great minor supporting roles, greatly played. Like David Koechner as the gas station dude Sanders, and Jadon Bateman (As Keith Yert) and Beau abridges (as father Clint Perrkins).The film is about a guy, Yul Perrkins, named after Yul Brunner, having picked the name Chales Bronson. He is under witness protection, but is forced to get out of his hiding due to driving his girlfriend in his rare Lincoln to her new dream job in L.A. They are troubled by her ex-boyfriend, which is stalking him, and is ready to out him to the gangster boss Alex Dimitri, which is the reason he is under witness protection. Then the troubled road is set.The film is what I would sort under road movie comedy, and has got some great driving scenes in beautiful scenery, and some car chases and burn outs in classic cars. It's a fun film, though not a laugh-out-loud movie, but still it has some real funny episodes. Most of them around the quite nervous and definitely unsafe US Marshall Randy, played by Tom Arnold. It's quite impressive that the film is made on such a low budget. Obviously inspired by Tarantino, which shows on the many small and sometimes longer dialogs which is about different boring everyday stuff, not really concerning th film's progression, but which adds character. This is film makers having a good portion of fun, and that shows. Kudos to all involved. This is better than its rating so far.