Movie review: 'Hit and Run' is a little hit or miss

Open Road Films, 2012.

2 out of 5 stars

Starring the real-life couple Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell, Hit & Run is a little hit or miss. Dax Shepard also wrote and co-directed the film, and it is laced with some very natural flowing dialogue that gives it a unique independent tone. But most of the plot and action sequences border on the absurd.
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Dax plays a guy named Charles Bronson…yep. He seems to just be a car-lovin’, laid-back dude who lives with his girlfriend played by Kristen Bell. In actuality, Charlie is a former getaway driver who is in witness protection – and it would be a major plot spoiler to go any further than that as to why he is in hiding.

I can say that his real name is Yul Perkins, which any Detroit-er can tell you is a play on the popular Fox newscaster, Huel Perkins. Dax is originally from the Detroit area, so this inside joke was meant for us locals.

Tom Arnold pops up playing his usual Tazmanian-Devil-like self, as Charlie’s trigger-happy protective agent. He has a pretty funny scene in the beginning where he ends up shooting up his own car, as it tries to make a getaway all on its own.

But for every pleasant cameo, there are a few misfires by the casting department. Bradley Cooper as a dread-locked drug dealer? He looks more like he dressed up as Sideshow Bob for a Halloween party.

The film has a breezy attitude about it, but it is also quite violent. It seems like a Charles Bronson movie all right, and maybe that’s the point.

But as the film drags along, it comes across more crass than cool. Hit & Run exists as a love letter from Dax Shepard to Dax Shepard, featuring himself, his girl and his car, as they fight bad guys and run around kicking butt. There is some intelligent dialogue going on, and a real chemistry between the two, but they exist in a cartoon world that leaves little to latch on to.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance
Run Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, Rated R

Starring: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper, Kristin Chenoweth, Kal Bennett
Directed by David Palmer & Dax Shepard (Brother’s Justice)
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Opens locally on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012