Rod Kimble, a self-proclaimed stuntman, is convinced he has bravery in his blood. He's grown up believing he's the son of Evel Knievel's test-rider, a courageous stuntman who died in his prime. Rod is committed to fulfilling his father's legacy. Only problem is--he sucks! Rod lives at home with his loving mom Marie, jerk of a stepfather Frank and nerdy stepbrother Kevin. He doesn't have a job, and can usually be found doing stunts on his moped, attempting to jump over everything from milk trucks to public swimming pools. Rod and his team--Dave, the mechanic; Rico, the ramp builder and Kevin, the team manager/videographer--are inseparable. It's almost like they share a brain. When Rod's neighbor Denise joins the team, the group's IQ virtually doubles. Rod remains optimistic in spite of the abuse he suffers from his stepfather. Frank has a penchant for beating the tar out of Rod, who just keeps coming back for more in the hopes of earning Frank's respect by besting him in one of their regular knock-down brawls. When Frank gets sick and needs a $50,000 operation, Rod attempts to raise the money by undertaking his biggest stunt ever--jumping 15 buses, one more than Evel Knievel himself ever dared. After all, he's got to get Frank all better so he can kick his ass! - skip ad - Genres: Comedy Running Time: 1 hr 28 min Release Date: August 3rd, 2007 (wide) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude humor, language, some comic drug-related and violent content. Distributor: Paramount Pictures Cast And Credits Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Ian McShane, Sissy Spacek, Will Arnett Directed by: Akiva Schaffer Produced by: Jill Messick, Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn

Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg might be billed above the title, but the real stars of his big-screen vehicle "Hot Rod" are the multitudes of stuntmen suffering unending physical abuse in his stead. Playing a wannabe Evel Knievel who sets out to jump over 15 buses to raise money for his verbally abusive stepfather's (Ian McShane) heart operation, Samberg pretends to be pummeled by inanimate objects for nearly all of the film's running time.

Unfortunately, the gags start to wear thin shortly around the 15-minute mark, not to mention the fact that they pale in comparison to the real-life indignities endured by the members of the "Jackass" crew.

Still, the young actor displays a reasonably engaging and sweet comedic screen presence, sort of a variation on Will Ferrell's dim-witted cluelessness with occasional interludes of Adam Sandler-style emotional volatility.

Apparently originally designed as a vehicle for Ferrell, who serves as one of the executive producers, the comedy is high in concept, low in sophistication. To say that it wastes the talents of McShane (who at least seems to be enjoying his hammy turn) and Oscar winner Sissy Spacek, as Samberg's patient, long-suffering mom, is an understatement.

Also wasted is Isla Fisher, who plays it mainly straight as Samberg's love interest and has little opportunity to display the comic talents seen in "Wedding Crashers," and Will Arnett, doing his usual deep-voiced, boorish routine.

On the other hand, Jorma Taccone, Bill Hader and Danny McBride are quite funny as Samberg's sidekicks, and "SNL's" Chris Parnell scores some laughs as a pompous AM radio broadcaster.

Pam Brady's formulaic screenplay mainly assembles a series of physical set pieces in which Samberg's character falls off his motorbike, gets hit by assorted vehicles, literally becomes a human pinata, etc. Director Akiva Schaffer executes these sequences with enough brio to induce laughter from juvenile-minded audience members, but only rarely -- as with a hilariously edited montage of the star falling down a mountain for what seems like an eternity -- do they display real imagination.

In a shamelessly brazen attempt to replicate the success of Samberg's "SNL" video shorts "Lazy Sunday" and "Dick in a Box," there is a sequence involving the repeated chanting of the phrase "cool beans" that seems instantly ready for YouTube.

Much of the film's humor stems from the soundtrack, consisting largely of cheesy cuts from the apparently not forgotten heavy-metal band Europe.