 Hot Rod is the latest movie to be ripped from the pages of Saturday Night Live. It stars SNL regular Andy Samberg as an Evel Knievel-wannabe. Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times predicts that the movie will make Samberg a star. "With a trusting face, a gigantic smile and an occasional Burt Reynolds mustache, he has the innocence of many great comedians who always seem surprised at the way their schemes turn out." On the other hand, A.O. Scott in the New York Times writes: "Mr. Samberg's wide smile and eager manner are engaging, but he labors under the misapprehension that he is automatically, innately funny. There is a difference between finding humor in laziness and self-delusion and lazily deluding yourself that anything you do will bring big laughs." And Desson Thomson concludes in the Washington Post: "There's no question Samberg has a future in movie comedy, but this caper amounts to a false start." |
