Hit And Run – Refreshing and Ingenious Romantic Comedy

Directors: David Palmer, Dax Shepard

Actors: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper

Rating: 4/5

One of the delights in life is to sometimes unexpectedly behold a little-known gem of a film that thrills you with its ingenuity. Usually one experiences this in an old film. To find this in a film playing in the theatres is sheer luck.

‘Hit And Run’ is one such film made by a passionate bunch of people which but for a relatively lesser known cast and bad luck of not having a better studio patronising it, would have been the toast of the town.

That Dax and Kirsten are real life couple, helps the film.

 Under witness-protection in small town America, Charlie (Dax Shepard) falls in love with Annie (Kirsten Bell). When she gets a new job in LA, Charlie decides to drop her off despite the possible dangers. Annie’s jealous and foolish ex-lover not only follows them, but gets both his cop brother and Charlie’s arch-enemy Alex (Bradley Cooper) on their tail.

What follows is a hilarious ride where a doctorate in non-violent conflict resolution is paired with a former bank robber trying desperately to control himself, a nutty ex-lover crosses path with an accident prone federal marshal with a gay cop and a crazy gangster in hot pursuit through rural America.

‘Hit and Run’ literally hits and runs over you with its ingenious and delightful humour. Be warned though for you can’t expect the over the top, outlandish comedy Hollywood is known for.

Instead you have a very refined comedy riding on some very sophisticated writing and neatly conceptualised sequences and well thought out characters, their idiosyncrasies and some whacky situation. But the whackness of the situation is not just because of something crazy happening visually (of which there is enough), but the interplay of characters, their prejudices and the choices they make or have made in the past.   

Amongst all the good things about the film, the best are its writing and romance. Then there is writing of the romance which is so realistic and observant of couple’s mannerisms of debate and fights, that it is almost eerie to see it on screen. That the lead pair of Dax and Kirsten are real life couples, perhaps adds to the believability of their love. 

More than commerce, the film is a work of passion where Dax Shepard not only plays the lead but is also the writer, co-director, co-producer and co-editor of the film. He and David Palmer, who have co-directed a film before, refine their creative partnership here. 

The sophistication of the film might prove to be a drawback at the box office, as viewers expecting a typical comedy might be surprised by it and not many pleasantly so. However, those who enjoy a good sprinkling of intelligence in their comedies will have a rocking time.

A perfect movie to go with your partner as it mixes and satiates the urges of both parties involved - the need for romance and the urge for masculinity with powerful cars driven by nutty characters. 

(This review has been written for the wire service, IANS)