Movie Review: Hit and Run (+trailer)

Dax Shepard is a man of many talents. The star of MTV's Punk'd wrote, produced and directed Hit and Run and his talent shines through the film, an independent production with a $2 million budget. There is a rawness about Hit and Run and a refreshing telling of the story.

Dax plays Charles Bronson, a man who lives in rural California because he's in the witness protection programme.

Bronson (his new identity) used to be the getaway driver for a couple of bank robbers. When he decided to testify against his cohorts he was hidden for his own safety.

In his new home he finds love with school teacher Annie Bean (Dax's real-life fiancee Kristen Bell) and for 12 months lives a carefree life. Annie knows nothing of Charlie's past but when a job opportunity opens up for her in Los Angeles, details begin to emerge about the real Charlie.

The couple's road trip to Los Angeles for her interview becomes fraught with danger when Alex (Bradley Cooper), his former bank-robbing mate, learns of Charlie's re-emergence.

Making for even greater farce, Charlie's bumbling witness protection marshall Randy (Tom Arnold), joins the chase to protect Charlie.

So across the state they go, at speed, with Alex wanting his money back, Charlie wanting to live a little longer, and Randy trying to prove his worth. On their journey they cross paths with some weird and wonderful members of society and you never know when the next joke is going to hit you.

Hit and Run is not laugh-out-loud comedy. It is more of an entertaining story, some funny characters and several patches where the humour rolls freely.

Hit and Run

(M) 115 minutes