"I did the getaway driving part."
"Who are you?!?"
"I knew you were going to react this way."
"Who wouldn't react this way? A sociopath?"
Charlie Bronson (Shepard), a former getaway driver who turned on his friends, is living in Witness Protection in the middle of nowhere. The only highlight of his protection, is his girlfriend Annie (Bell), a professor. Annie is offered a spectacular promotion in Los Angeles, and plans to accept. Charlie offers to drive her, despite jeopardizing his safety.
Following them is Randy (Arnold), Charlie's clumsy and incompetent Witness Protection Agent. Also in pursuit is Annie's ex-boyfriend, Gil (Rosenbaum), who doesn't trust Charlie and wants to protect Annie. And then Gil contacts Charlie's former best friend / partner, Alex (Cooper), who also chase after the couple. Even with police officer Terry (Rowland), Gil's brother, keeping tabs on everyone, can they all survive the trip?
Actor Dax Shepard wrote and co-directed the film, in his directing debut. Apparently the film, from writing the script to filming / editing, only took 10 months... and it shows. It's a bit of a mess. The premise is interesting, and the chase scenes were impressive (with Shepard filming most of his own stunts).
The film starts slow, but picks up speed when they get behind the wheel. Shepard and real-life fiance Kristen Bell have excellent chemistry and work well together. Bell is one of my favorite actresses, and the reason I went to see the film... she has incredible screen presence and is a joy to watch.
The beginning of the film is building up to Alex chasing after Charlie. Bradley Cooper seems like a strange choice for the role, especially as with blonde dreadlocks, but he is able to pull it off. It isn't the typical role for him, but he makes it work. Kristin Chenoweth stands out with a small but memorable role, which seems mostly improvised. Tom Arnold also scores a few laughs, but mostly at the incompetence of his character... his scenes are funny, but ultimately take you away from the main plot line. Michael Rosenbaum is also entertaining as Gil. I love seeing him in comedy roles (check out the first season of "Breaking In").
The cast feels like a group of friends getting together to make a film. Shepard and Joy Bryant, who plays Neve, portray a married couple on TV's "Parenthood." Bell and Ryan Hansen, Allen in the film, are close friends and have appeared together on TV's "Veronica Mars" and "Party Down." Actually, most of the main cast is populated with actors who got their start / made a name for themselves on TV.
Be aware: The dialogue is crude (lots of swearing), and there are two completely unnecessary scenes of nudity (which are played for laughs).
Overall, there are funny moments and decent action sequences. The film is mindless entertainment for a boring day, don’t try to make it into something bigger.
Hit & Run (2012) 100 minutes
Rating: R for pervasive language including sexual references, graphic nudity, some violence and drug content
Director: David Palmer & Dax Shepard
Starring: Dax Shepard as Charlie Bronson
Kristen Bell as Annie
Kristin Chenoweth as Debbie Kreeger
Tom Arnold as Randy
Bradley Cooper as Alex Dimitry
Beau Bridges as Clint Perkins
Michael Rosenbaum as Gil
Joy Bryant as Neve
Jess Rowland as Terry
Ryan Hansen as Allen
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