I’m not sure why there are teaser trailers for not-exactly-heavily-anticipated comedies starring relative unknowns. I mean, for a film like that – since you can’t sell it on the cast or the name brand – I would think you’d want the public’s first look at your film to be a full-sized affair loaded with jokes and some hint of a narrative, ending in a money shot gag that will be replayed ad infinitum in every TV spot afterwards. That’s exactly what the Superbad trailer does, and it kills with every audience I’ve seen it play in front of.
Then, we have Hot Rod. It’s the debut starring vehicle for SNL‘s Andy Samberg, who’s made a name for himself with online-saavy digital shorts featuring innovative stuff like white guys rapping about The Chronicles of Narnia and Natalie Portman rapping explicitly and Justin Timberlake singing explicitly…well, it’s always hilarious when white people sing and rap, right? My sides hurt from just typing that. Maybe if I watched the show with any regularity I’d see Samberg as more than a one-trick pony. Lord knows this teaser trailer didn’t help.
In the brief footage, we see Samberg playing amateur stuntman Rod Kimble kicking things off with a failed moto-scooter jump. But see…he’s wearing a silly mustache, so laugh, you fuck! Anyway, there’s some flashes of other nonsense, and finally Ian McShane – playing his stepfather – shows up to beat him in the face. Everybody’s wearing silly clothes and hairstyles that make you think this could be set in the 70s or 80s, aaaaaand…The End. Despite them being in this movie (and funnier, more marketable people to boot), neither Isla Fisher nor Will Arnett show up in this teaser. It’s just as well as it’s so brief and disjointed, I don’t think they could’ve helped much.
I find it kind of odd that a guy so Web-saavy would have such a disappointingly conventional first look at his film. I would think there’d be a big MySpace page and webisodes and viral clips, but there’s just this and a lame "official" site placeholder up right now. At least the teaser is in HD Quicktime, but it loads kinda weird, so once you click for it, be patient.
This hits theaters August 3, so take a gander right here.