Remember those Wanda Sykes commercials where she would tell a group of kids how wrong it is to use the word “gay” when referring to something “lame” or “uncool”? Well, remove Wanda Sykes, keep the anti-homophobic rants, throw in a Corvette in some weak car chases and you have got yourself Dax Shepard’s new comedy, “Hit and Run.”
The reason I anticipated seeing “Hit and Run” so badly is what most will probably call a dumb reason. But it was the cars. I’m a car guy. A driver. Racking up my share of speed contest/street racing tickets in my time makes me a little eager to go watch stunt men in movies do what I wish I could do (and sometimes pretend I do) on the streets. And I always love a good comedy.
Hit and Run had the cars and that was about it.
The whole movie centers around Charlie, a former getaway driver for a bank robbing gang of his former friends. After testifying against them, he is living with his girlfriend, Annie, in a secluded small town under witness protection. When Charlie’s cover is blown by one of his girlfriend’s ex’s, Charlie’s friends (the bank robbers) track him down.
Not the thickest of plots, but for the quality of cars involved, I could care less.
But what distracted me the whole time from enjoying Shepard’s dry sense of humor or the mediocre chase scenes involving a beautiful ‘67 Lincoln Continental, was the constant nagging and reminders for political correctness.
The movie was filled to the brim with gay and anti-homophobic messages. Hell, I think that at least half of the characters in the film were gay. At one point, Charlie’s girlfriend Annie lectures him after using the word “fag” when referring to what type of people like cars with nitrous boost. Now I get it, I’m not stupid. Kirsten Bell’s character, Annie, is not actually lecturing the audience, but with all the gay and anti-racist “jokes,” it was kind of hard to leave the theater without feeling like I was in a political correctness seminar. The movie was good, but it could have been a lot better if it weren’t for the lessons in equality that popped up about every five minutes.
The thing that should be noted about “Hit and Run” is that the film was written, directed, starred and completely financed by Dax Shepard. With all that being said, it’s pretty impressive the movie came out as good as it did. Kudos to Shepard for being a jack of all trades.
My suggestion? Save your money and go see “Lawless” with the kid from Even Stevens.