The worst aspect about this movie is probably its title, which is so generic that it is meaningless, and not memorable at all.  And I’m not sure that Tom Arnold is very good as a sweaty federal marshal, but no one can deny that he isn’t trying.  Finally, the story isn’t particularly enticing, what with having a federally protected witness come out of hiding to take his girlfriend to a job interview in Los Angeles.

However, as lame as that description may sound, I’m bound to admit that Hit & Run is a surprisingly entertaining movie.  Its star, Dax Shepard, also wrote the script and co-directed it with David Palmer, and persuaded his girlfriend, Kristen Bell, to play the leading lady.  The onscreen chemistry between Shepard and Bell is palpable. Best of all is the dialogue that Shepard has written for them, dialogue that belies the odd premise by ignoring what’s going on much of the time in favor of exploring their still-evolving relationship.  More than anything else, Hit & Run is a relationship movie about an almost-fully committed couple suddenly endangered because she learns that he has been hiding much of his checkered past from her.

Relationships are the fuel that supercharges the script, be it between Shepard and Bell, cop partners Jess Rowland and Carly Hatter, bank robbers Bradley Cooper, Ryan Hansen and Joy Bryant, Bell and former boyfriend Michael Rosenbaum, Shepard and the bank robbers, Shepard and marshal Tom Arnold, Shepard and father Beau Bridges, etc.  No matter how crazy or how mundane the situation, Shepard’s dialogue finds ways to energize the characters and keep them interesting.

It doesn’t avoid the crudity and vulgarity that I’ve come to despise in modern films, but it doesn’t dwell on such things, either.  And while it is a comedy, it is more a comedy of character than situation or pratfall, and this is the type of comedy that I appreciate.  I enjoyed spending time with these people.  Hit & Run isn’t quite a good film, but it’s not far off, with some cool cars (and too much racing through dust) that are actually from Dax Shepard’s personal collection.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  6 September 2012.