Underneath the ridiculousness, slapstick humor, hilarious quotes, the movie Hot Rod actually addresses some deep struggles that I believe all men have. Throughout the movie amateur stuntman Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) performs/fails ridiculous stunts with his crew. Essentially the plot is Rod doing stunts in order to raise money to fund a huge jump (15 buses.. One more than Evel Knievel jumped, I know cause I checked. Online.) for a heart transplant to save his dying stepdad. However, Rod wants to save Frank in order to beat him in a fight and thus earn Frank’s love and respect, which he cannot do if Frank dies (Maybe he should’ve thought of that before he sucked at being a man all his life). When his step-brother Kevin asks Rod why he has to fight Frank Rod tells him, “You wouldn’t understand, Kevin. He’s your real dad, so he automatically loves you. He’s my stepdad. I have to earn it.” Also, Rod believed his biological father to be a stuntman, so he then does stunts to honor his memory. This movie is all about a young man struggling to become a man and earn the blessing and validation from his stepdad.

Rod’s story reminds me the biblical story of Jacob. Jacob also struggled his whole life for validation of his identity as a man and he did not receive it from his father. Genesis 25 tells us that Isaac loved Jacob’s twin brother Esau because he was a big hairy hunter, while hairless Jacob (“You know I have a hormone disorder!!”) was a quiet man who stayed at home. Isaac’s favoritism for Esau deeply wounded Jacob. Jacob was constantly struggling with Esau, even from birth, for who would be the future leader of the family. Jacob convinced Esau to give up his inheritance for a bowl of soup, and he also tricked Isaac into giving him the blessing meant for Esau. Pastor Tim Keller believes Jacob stole the blessing because “Jacob, even under false pretenses, longed to hear his father say, ‘I delight in you more than anyone else in the world!’ Jacob’s life had been one long wrestling match to get blessing.” (Counterfeit Gods, 158) Since he didn’t have his father’s love Jacob looked for validation in a woman, Rachel. The price for her hand in marriage was 7 years of service, upon which her father deceitfully gave Leah, Rachel’s older sister, to Jacob, and required another 7 years to marry Rachel as well.

The climax of Jacob’s life comes the night before he was to meet Esau and his army. We are told that a man wrestled with Jacob until daybreak. A man so strong that he dislocated Jacob’s hip just by touching it.  Jacob told the man that he would not let him go unless he blessed him. The man told him, “You will no longer be Jacob, it will be Israel because you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” Jacob then said, “I have seen God face to face and have been delivered.” At some point that night Jacob realized he was wrestling with God, and rather asking him to let go so he doesn’t die, Jacob did the opposite and clung to him. Jacob received a new name. He was no longer defined by his struggle, but by his victory. This reminds me of the final scene in Hot Rod where Rod is fighting Frank and holding him in an armbar saying, “Tell me I’m a man, Frank! Say it!” Frank then smiled at him and said, “You’re a man, son.”

I think in all men there is a desire to hear their father say they are proud of them. We long for validation. We want to know we are enough and have what it takes. I think it is important to receive this validation from our earthly fathers, but ultimately the validation that matters most is from our heavenly father. Hebrews 2:11 says, “For the one who sanctifies (Jesus) and those being sanctified (believers in Jesus) all have one father. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.” Paul also says that we are co-heirs with Christ because we have the same father. We did not earn this identity. Rather it was given to us through Christ’s death on the cross. He took our sin and gave us his righteousness. So the Father no longer sees our sin on us, it has all been defeated on the cross. Now all he sees is Christ’s holiness. We receive the same blessing the Father gave to Jesus at his baptism, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.” Christian, rest in the fact that we don’t have to win a fight to be sons and daughters of God. It’s all by grace.

Here is the final fight scene from Hot Rod 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKxbL8Sh8mU