Hit & Run Movie Poster

During the first part of 2012, it seems that films can be categorized as either a mega budget tent pole or low budget comedy. Most films that fall under the second category make up the lack of budget by either being slapstick funny or splattering the script with romance. Enter Hit & Run, a throwback to the car chase films of the 1970s. With the younger generation not be familiar with films like Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run, this chase film may feel like a new concept.

Dax Shepard plays a car enthusiast living in the middle of nowhere as part of the witness-protection program after testifying against his best friend (Bradley Cooper) in the wake of a failed robbery. He befriends a klutzy marshal in charge of keeping him safe (Tom Arnold) and has a loving, overachieving sociology professor girlfriend (Kristen Bell). Bell gets an opportunity to interview for a dream position as head of the nation’s first nonviolent conflict resolution department at a prestigious Los Angeles university, the place where Shepard would put himself at risk. Throwing caution to the wind, Shepard and Bell go on a road trip to the West Coast while being pursued by Bell’s obsessive ex-boyfriend (Michael Rosenbaum) Arnold, and a cast of dangerous villains. In the process, Shepard comes face to face with his colorful past.