Hit and Run: You’ll Like it if You Like it

Hit and Run received a mid-week premiere, most likely to gain momentum into the weekend. The movie theatre was practically empty when I went, and those who had bought a ticket to a different movie may have missed out on the next ‘water cooler’ hit. For this is popcorn fare that’s sure to please moviegoers looking for a fresh twist on comedy, and disappoint those looking for more of the same. I believe that once word-of-mouth spreads, Hit and Run will be playing to packed houses.

The story blends rom-com with a road trip movie and semi-action flick. Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard) is a former getaway driver in the witness protection program. When his girlfriend Annie (Kristen Bell) is offered her dream job in Charlie’s old stomping ground of Los Angeles; he decides to leave the witness protection program and deliver Annie to her interview. Along the way they are pursued by jealous ex-boyfriend Gil (Michael Rosenbaum), clumsy federal agent Randy (Tom Arnold), and the very bank robbers he turned witness on lead by dreadlocked dog defender Alex Dimitri (Bradley Cooper).

This is a date movie full of realistic and quirky action. The dialogue and situations were fresh, and the chemistry among the entire cast was delightful. Even the villains were fun to follow, and the surprisingly cordial relationship between Charlie and Alex was amusing to watch even as Alex was unloading a clip of bullets at the fleeing couple.

If you’re searching for a high budget action flick with a lot of explosions, you won’t find it here. The film was clearly a labor of love for Dax Shepard. At times the filmmaker in me got nervous when the camera kept shifting from close up to close up, trying to hide the lack of background actors and extras in the film. But directors David Palmer and Dax Shepard got creative with the editing and witty dialogue to make up for the lack of budget. Even the scenes that were shown in the preview appeared in the movie in a way that they took me by surprise and left me laughing.

From a performance standpoint the exchanges between Bell and Shepard have a unique voice, and Tom Arnold’s oversensitive prat-falling agent brought forth several smiles and deep chuckles. The rest of the cast, from large part to small, delivered unique performances and eclectic characterizations that really highlighted how smart this film is. Unfortunately for the cast, the film is one that will play best to larger audiences; as the laughter in the film is of the infectious kind. My wife and I were doubled over during a scene involving Bradley Cooper’s character debating the merits of a poor dog food purchase with the unsuspecting purchaser. The resulting fallout left us clapping and high fiving like two goofy teenagers.          

As a reviewer (i.e., movie dissector), I always try to find things to nit pick, but frankly this is the exact type of movie that made me want to become a writer. I plan on actually buying a hard copy (a rarity for me) and popping it into the Blu-Ray player from time to time for years to come. If I stretch my critical thoughts I could say that, from a screenwriting perspective, the villains didn’t enter the film until much later than would normally be expected. Additionally, some of the plot points weren’t as organic to the story as they could have been. For example, a random meeting with a gas station red neck leads to Charlie’s engine being stolen and preventing their getaway from the pursuing villains. The timing of this plot point happened so quickly that not enough time passed for the reveal of the engine being stolen to be a surprise. But unintentional nit-picking aside, Dax Shepard’s writing captured me from the opening scene.

Hit and Run won’t be for everyone, as the mixed reviews online clearly shows, but put this reviewer in the “for” column. And put Hit and Run in the group of films that includes Step Brothers, Napoleon Dynamite, and The Royal Tenenbaums. Each was a film that was an acquired taste, and each became funnier and more quotable with each viewing. So if you often find yourself humming “Boats and Ho’s” or wearing a “Vote for Pedro” tee-shirt, you’ll most likely find yourself enjoying this film as well.