Hit And Run (2012 Film)
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''Hit and Run'' is a 2012 American
action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
written by
Dax Shepard Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker and podcaster. Since 2018, he has hosted '' Armchair Expert'', a podcast in which he interviews celebrities, journalists, and academics about their lives. Shepa ...
, with David Palmer and Shepard co-directing (their second collaboration after '' Brother's Justice'' in 2010). The film stars Shepard and
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. List of Kristen Bell performances, Her work includes both film and television, and List of awards and nominations received by Kristen Bell, h ...
, with
Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...
, Tom Arnold, and
Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...
, and follows a man who has been placed in Federal Witness Protection going on the run with his girlfriend to escape a mobster. It was released on August 22, 2012, received mixed reviews from critics, and grossed $16 million.


Plot

Charlie Bronson is enrolled in
Witness Protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after trials, usually by police. While witnesses may only require p ...
, living in
Milton, California Milton is an unincorporated community in Calaveras County, California. It lies at an elevation of 394 feet (120 m) and is located at . The community is in ZIP code 95684 and area code 209. Milton was established in 1871 when the Stockton an ...
, under the supervision of incompetent
U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...
Randy Anderson. Charlie's girlfriend Annie Bean is a professor with a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in Non-Violent Conflict Resolution. Her supervisor Debby Kreeger promises to fire her if she does not make it to a job interview at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
. Charlie, unable to return to Los Angeles since enrolling in Witness Protection, insists Annie take the interview without him. Instead, Annie returns to work to beg to keep her job, but Charlie picks her up in his souped-up, restored
Lincoln Continental The Lincoln Continental is a series of mid-sized and full-sized luxury cars produced between 1939 and 2020 by Lincoln, a division of the American automaker Ford Motor Company. The model line was introduced following the construction of a per ...
to take her to the interview. Annie's ex-boyfriend Gil Rathbinn, believing Charlie is in Witness Protection as a murderous criminal, urges her not to go; undeterred, she leaves with Charlie. Gil's brother Terry, a police officer, finds that Charlie's vehicle is registered to "Yul Clint Perrkins" — Charlie's real name. Gil discovers Charlie is a former
getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of departing from the location where one has committed a crime. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a c ...
who testified in an unsuccessful case against his fellow bank robbers. Gil messages one of the defendants, Alexander Dmitri, on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
, that he knows Yul Perrkins' location. Randy pursues Charlie to L.A. Charlie and Annie confront Gil, who is following them, and Charlie tries to resolve the situation non-violently at her insistence. Unmoved, Gil reveals that he knows Charlie's real name and has Alex Dmitri as a "Facebook friend". Charlie and Annie flee, running Randy off the road as he arrives. Alex sees Gil's message and gathers his fellow bank robbers Neve and Allen to find him. While Annie and Charlie stop for gas, the Continental's engine is admired by a redneck named Sanders. He follows them to a motel, and they discover in the morning that the engine has been stolen. Ambushed by Gil, Charlie knocks him out and realizes he was accompanied by Alex's crew. He grabs the VIN of a
Chevrolet Corvette The Chevrolet Corvette is a line of American two-door, two-seater sports cars manufactured and marketed by General Motors under the Chevrolet marque since 1953. Throughout eight generations, indicated sequentially as C1 to C8, the Corvette is not ...
in the parking lot and duplicates a keyless entry using the tools of his former trade; he and Annie flee in the Corvette, with Gil, Alex's crew, and Randy in hot pursuit. The pair argue over his past, and he reveals that he was a getaway driver for 13 bank robberies and was engaged to Neve. After escaping their pursuers, Annie confronts Charlie for lying to her and proceeds without him. Gil agrees to take her the rest of the way, but they are run off the road by Alex, who takes her hostage and calls Charlie, telling him to meet at a nearby diner. There, he demands money in exchange for Annie; they argue about Charlie's betrayal, cut short when Alex reveals that he was raped in prison and blames Charlie. Charlie agrees to take Alex to his stash of money hidden at his estranged father Clint's home; en route, he calls Randy, now in the company of Terry (who is attracted to him) and his partner Angela (Carly Hatter) with his father's address. The three pick up Gil along the way. At Clint's, Charlie and his father reconcile as they dig up his bag of money. His father mentions his Class 1 Off-Road racing vehicle, and attacks Alex’s crew as Charlie and Annie escape in the racer, just as Gil, Randy, Terry and Angela arrive. Randy manages to shoot Alex and arrests the thieves. Two other Marshals take Alex's crew into custody, complimenting Randy and Terry's work. Charlie and Annie reconcile and arrive in time for her interview; He offers to spend the rest of his life with her, and she accepts. Some months later, Randy and Terry, now in a relationship, take the Marshals' exam. A stinger segment reveals Annie's interview with Professor Sandy Osterman. She interrupts him hotboxing his office and is surprised he is not a woman as Debby had described. Osterman reveals Debby is his sister, and Annie sympathizes with him, earning his approval and an immediate job offer, which she accepts.


Cast


Production

On December 21, 2011,
Open Road Films Open Road Films, LLC (formerly known briefly as Global Road Entertainment) is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded by Tom Ortenberg on March 26, 2011, as a joint ven ...
picked up the U.S distribution rights. Open Road changed the name of the film from ''Outrun'' to ''Hit and Run''. One of the chase scenes was filmed at the former
MCAS Tustin Marine Corps Air Station Tustin (IATA: NTK, ICAO: KNTK, FAA LID: NTK) is a former United States Navy and United States Marine Corps air station, located in Tustin, California. History The Air Station was established in 1942 by the United ...
base in
Tustin, California Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, United States, within the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city does not include the unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated communit ...
, with the distinctive blimp hangars prominently visible. The final scene was filmed in front of Oviatt Library, California State University, Northridge. The film was also filmed in
Fillmore, California Fillmore is a small city in Ventura County, California, United States, in the Santa Clara River Valley. In an agricultural area with rich, fertile soil, Fillmore has a historic downtown that was established when the Southern Pacific built the ...
and
Piru, California Piru () is a small unincorporated historic town located in eastern Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley near the Santa Clara River and Highway 126, about east of Fillmore and about west of Interstate 5. Lake Piru, ...
. To keep the production budget low, most of the cast did their own stunts and driving.


Release

Distributed by Open Road, the film opened in theaters on August 22, 2012. The first official trailer was released on May 16, 2012.


Reception

On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
site
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, ''Hit and Run'' holds an approval rating of 49% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though ''Hit & Run'' has some surprisingly filmmaking, the action doesn't add to much and the writing's a bit smug."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
gives the film a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave it 3.5 of 4 stars, writing, "With its off-the-shelf title, I had worked up less than a white-hot enthusiasm to see "Hit & Run," but it's a lot more fun than the title suggests. How many chase comedies have you seen where the hero's sexy girlfriend has a doctorate in nonviolent conflict resolution? Her counseling would have been invaluable to the U.S. marshal (Tom Arnold) in an early scene where he attempts to shoot his own van." Film critic
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
gave the film an "F", calling it an unfunny comedy movie from start to finish.


Soundtrack

The film soundtrack was commercially released as the ''Hit and Run (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' on August 21, 2012.
Songs not included within the soundtrack * "
Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" is a song written by composer Michael Masser and lyricist Gerry Goffin. It was originally recorded by American singer and guitarist George Benson for his 1985 studio album ''20/20'', released by Warner B ...
" – performed by
Glenn Medeiros Glenn Alan Medeiros (born June 24, 1970) is an American former singer best known for his 1987 George Benson cover, "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You", which reached No. 12 on the US ''Billboard charts, Billboard'' Billboard Hot 100, Hot 10 ...
* "
Sweet Emotion "Sweet Emotion" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith, released in 1975 on their third studio album '' Toys in the Attic'' by Columbia Records. It was released as a single on May 19, 1975. The song began a string of pop hits and large ...
" - performed by
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
* "
Voodoo Child (Slight Return) "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1968 that appears as the final track on the group's third studio album, ''Electric Ladyland'', released that year. It contains improv ...
" - performed by
The Jimi Hendrix Experience James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...


References


External links

* * * {{Dax Shepard 2012 action comedy films 2012 crime comedy films American action comedy films American crime comedy films American independent films Open Road Films films Films directed by Dax Shepard Films about automobiles Films about witness protection Films about the United States Marshals Service 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2012 independent films 2012 films English-language action comedy films English-language crime comedy films English-language independent films Films scored by Julian Wass