Movie review: "Hot Rod" (2007)

Man-child Rod Kimble ("Saturday Night Live"'s Andy Samberg) has regular basement brawls with his stepdad Frank ("Deadwood"'s Ian McShane), in an unsuccessful bid to win the toughnut's respect. When the old bloke's laid low by a dicky ticker, it looks like Rod will never get a chance to best him in a fight. Our hero's solution? To raise 50 grand for a heart transplant by charging people to watch him jump 15 buses on a motorcycle!

That might not sound like the most obvious way to earn greenbacks, except that Rod's spent his life attempting foolhardy stunts in memory of his biological father, who he believes was a test rider for Evel Knievel. Just 'cos those jumps all ended in bone-crunching failure won't stop him and his team – consisting of a nerdy brother, two redneck mates and love interest Isla Fisher ("Wedding Crashers") – trying again.

"Hot Rod" feels like a Will Ferrell comedy. Samberg plays the same sorta weirdly likeable underdog, prone to bizarre utterances, lacking the shame gene, and with the indestructibilty of a cartoon character. While Rod could never exist in our world, he fits right into this one – where townsfolk suddenly break into song'n'dance numbers (John Farnham's "You're The Voice"!) and the big stunt is broadcast live on AM radio by a DJ who delivers a show-stealing rant involving tattoos and twin streams of urine.

Final word: "Napoleon Dynamite" meets "Talladega Nights"...to discuss "Jackass".

[Australian cinema release date: October 11]