Hit & Run 1½/4 A movie review by James Berardinelli

September 6, 2012 by James Berardinelli - Reelviews
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For an action comedy, it’s generally advisable that the movie be (a) exciting, (b) funny, or (c) both of the above. In the case of Hit & Run, the unfortunate choice is (d) none of the above.

A slow, meandering misfire of a movie, this co-directorial production of David Palmer and Dax Shepard tries hard to achieve a Quentin Tarantino vibe (consider the sequence focused on the ingredients of an inferior brand of dog food) but doesn’t do a good job. It’s like Mozart being interpreted by someone who’s tone-deaf. (I’m sure Tarantino would get a kick out being compared to Mozart.) And the ending is so flaccid that it takes a few minutes to realize that the climax has come and gone. (Women may be more familiar with that experience than men.)
Some of Hit & Run’s comedy is just plain strange. Although “strange” does not necessarily equate to “funny,” there’s a penchant for quirkiness. Consider, for example, the hotel room occupied by a group of old naked fat people. (Note: in the trailer, they have been given CGI underwear, but there’s not of that in the movie – sort of like Natalie Portman’s chainmail bikini.) That’s where Hit & Run earns the “nudity” in its rating content description. The scene isn’t really funny (unless you find out-of-shape human bodies to be funny, which I suppose is possible – think Kathy Bates in About Schmidt) but it is unusual. Most of the material with Tom Arnold, whose character exists exclusively for comedic purposes, is more annoying than amusing.

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