Andy Samberg, a relative newbie on Saturday Night Live, takes his first big step up to the cinematic bat with Hot Rod, a hit-and-miss comedy that's more of the latter than the former. It's been almost seven years since The Ladies Man, the last movie to be based on a SNL skit, was released. But that hasn't stopped the show's performers from branching out onto the big screen, as recently demonstrated by the likes of Will Ferrell, Amy Poehler -- and now Samberg. 

Best known for the Chronicles of Narnia-inspired rap video on SNL a couple of years back, Samberg plays Rod Kimble, a small-town schmoe who fancies himself the world's next great stuntman. His Evel Knievel-in-training routines always seem to result in more bodily harm than in cheers from the crowds. However, that doesn't stop Rod from getting back on the proverbial horse after falling off for the umpteenth time. But Rod will have to realize that dream faster than he thought, because his gruff and demeaning stepdad (Ian McShane) needs a life-saving heart transplant his insurance won't pay for.

Wanting to save his stepdad's life (just so he can beat the stuffing out of him and finally earn his respect), Rod and his "crew" (Bill Hader, Jorma Taccone, and Danny R. McBride) set about pulling off that one great stunt to raise enough money for the operation: a dangerous jump over 15 buses. As the day of the jump grows nearer, Rod also finds himself falling for the sunny and charming Denise (Isla Fisher), whose arrogant boyfriend (Will Arnett) isn't about to give her up so easily.

Being a fan of the sleeper comedy Napoleon Dynamite, I can't help wondering about the completely polarized reactions to that film. Maybe it has a lot to do with the movie's very subtle and very deadpan style of humor, which simply either tickles your fancy or doesn't, and the same logic applies to Hot Rod. Although I got some Dynamiteesque vibes from this strange little production, it wasn't as much fun to watch. The difference between the two films involves  Dynamite being much more downplayed, while there's more sense of self-awareness evident throughout Hot Rod. The oddball jokes are too structured for their own good here, and the movie's "spaghetti on the wall" approach to these jokes -- throwing a bunch of stuff onto the screen and seeing what works --  failed to win my favor. 

Hot Rod may have charm to spare, but at the end of the day, it's not very funny. Still, it's the sort of movie you hate to hate, since the actors seem to be having a ball, the film is never mean-spirited, a couple of the jokes are downright hilarious, and the likable Samberg fills the role of a guy whose whole life is like an episode of MTV's Jackass with plenty of goofball optimism.

Some of the script's more random moments (including an inspirational march that turns into a full-blown riot) are funny and inspired. But the real knee-slappers are few and far between, so you spend Hot Rod mostly waiting for something funny to happen, like an American Idol judge going through a day's worth of auditions and only finding about three or four people who can actually carry a tune.

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)

(Released by Paramount Pictures and rated "PG-13" for crude humor, language, some comic drug-related and violent content. )