HIT AND RUN is a comedy about a young couple ('Kristen Bell' and 'Dax Shepard') that risks it all when they leave their small town life and embark on a road trip that may lead them towards the opportunity of a lifetime. Their fast-paced road trip grows awkwardly complicated and hilarious when they are chased by a friend from the past ('Bradley Cooper'), a federal marshal ('Tom Arnold') and a band of misfits. Former getaway driver Charles Bronson jeopardizes his Witness Protection Plan identity in order to help his girlfriend get to Los Angeles. The feds and Charles' former gang chase them on the road. It was fun and fairly bright. Some crass humor, and still bright language. I find Dax often write things with very specific communication tips in mind. It's interesting Charlie Bronson (Dax Shepard) decides to take his beautiful girlfriend Annie (Kristen Bell) to Los Angeles for an interview at a University. The problem lies in the fact that Mr. Bronson is in Witness Protection, and the very people that want to kill him (Bradley Cooper) live in LA. Sure enough, his foes find him and Bronson and Annie have to evade capture.<br/><br/>"Hit and Run" is a classic case of identity loss. It opens as a romantic thriller, becomes a comedy, then ends purely as an action chase thriller. A genre-less film doesn't know what it wants to do until the end, and Hit and Run didn't even know that.<br/><br/>The bright spots are the actors. Kristen Bell is a gem, she's as gorgeous as she is a good actress. Tom Arnold, the incredible underrated comedian who played Arnold's sidekick in True Lies, here plays an inept U.S. Marshall and is undoubtedly the funniest character in the film. Bradley Cooper has some funny lines as the villain. Beau Bridges and Jason Bateman have some clever cameos.<br/><br/>The weakest spot is the script. Cooper is written as a villain yet never seems particularly villainous. Shepard's dialogue with anyone is mundane at best, while trying to be at par with Tarantino. Shepard doesn't seem to know what he wants his character to be; funny or action star.<br/><br/>Apparently Shepard used his own cars and connections in Hollywood to make the film with a low budget. With that in mind, "Hit and Run" was a well-done opportunity to turn your brain off and sit out of the heat in an air-conditioned theater. I liked it enough, I just wish the film knew what it wanted to be. Its high-octane but low-stakes action might be just the thing for moviegoers weary of summer's operatic superheroes.
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370 weeks ago