Hit and Run [Blu-Ray]

Real-life couple Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell's pet project hasn't been given a fair shake by most critics, or the general viewing public, judging by its modest box office take. To focus only on the intermittent chase scenes is a disservice to this genuinely sweet, thoughtful and funny film. In his second outing as a screenwriter and co-director, Dax Shepard pushes political correctness to the side to take an honest and compassionate look at relationship dynamics between both lovers and estranged friends. All of the meaty discussions involving the inherent dishonesty of omission and passive-aggressive teasing as a mode of guardedly delivering criticisms take place within the framework of a rather silly action comedy. Shepard plays a former getaway driver in the Witness Protection Program who goes by the name of Charlie Bronson in his new life. When his girlfriend, Annie (the adorable and witty Kristen Bell), receives a job offer to head a program in her specialized field of non-violent conflict resolution, Charlie decides that her happiness is worth the risk of returning to the scene of his former criminal stomping grounds: Los Angeles. Thanks to the jealous intervention of Annie's necrophilia-obsessed ex-boyfriend, Gil (Michael Rosenbaum, Smallville's Lex Luthor), what should have been a simple road trip turns into a game of cat-and-mouse with Charlie's ex-partners, led by dog-loving dread-head Alex (Bradley Cooper, in the second best performance of his career). An annoyingly neurotic but also quite funny Tom Arnold is thrown into the mix as a well-meaning train wreck of a U.S. Marshal assigned to Charlie's case. With healthy dollops of slapstick alongside highly kinetic stunt driving and pointed examinations of how people unintentionally use weighted language out of habit and nervousness more so than genuine bigotry, Hit and Run has a great deal more going on than it initially appears. The movie's not so secret weapon is the palpable chemistry between Shepard and Bell — not even the best of actors can fake the sheer, overwhelming love pouring from their eyes. Unfortunately, the only special feature is a set of deleted scenes that expand upon a few conversations, such as Kristin Chenoweth's inspirational chat with Ms. Bell, which describes their small town college as "the jack-off booth of academia."