Hot Fuzz

Hot Fuzz

After convulsing with laughter during Shaun of the Dead, and pretty much anytime anyone referred to a line from it, I had to go see this movie. Granted, there aren't any zombies and Simon Pegg doesn't play a slacker-turned-hero, but it is just as funny.

Written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the film starts with listing the numerous commendations in Nicholas Angel's (Simon Pegg) career as a policeman- no, police officer, with the Metropolitan Police in London. He's so good that his superiors (Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy) decide to send him to the tiny village of Sandford, where there's little crime (excluding the missing swan) and a high number of accidents. His first night in town finds Angel in the local pub drinking cranberry juice and arresting underage drinkers. He almost gets run over by a drunken lout (Nick Frost, Ed from Shaun of the Dead) who is revealed the next day to be the inspector's son. The majority of the characters in the movie are parodies of the type of people portrayed in Britcoms, or British movies that are meant to portray tiny villages as "quaint" and "colourful": the stumbling cop, the sleazy town merchant, etc. The plot basically revolves around the "accidental" deaths of two of the town's inhabitants, who are decapitated after their horrifying portrayal of the Romeo and Juliet movie on stage.

What Shaun of the Dead did to zombie movies, Hot Fuzz does to action. The most prominent references are to Point Break and Bad Boys II, two of possibly the worst action movies ever made. But the references are great, specifically because they take the mickey out of both films, and Danny (Nick Frost) ends up using one of the more hilarious scenes of Point Break at one point. Although it is a comedy, there are a lot of action sequences within the humour, including a long gunbattle, and a chase scene. Essentially, it boils down to a buddy cop comedy with some gore, some colorful characters and great scenes with Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton and Steve Merchant.

There was actually a point in the movie when the entire audience was laughing uncontrollably for about 10 minutes, it's that funny. So I'd recommend it. I mean, it's not going to make any Top 10 Greatest Films of All Time lists any time soon, but it's enjoyable, and hilarious... and that's all that really matters, right?

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead

When you look at a poster for Shaun of the Dead, you see the tagline "A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies." That pretty much sums it up right there for you. It honestly is one of the funniest movies I have seen in a long, long time and that is saying a LOT coming from me.
It begins, in a typically British way, in a pub, where Shaun's girlfriend is complaining about all they ever do is sit in the pub and they never get to do anything really exciting. Well dear, that is all about to change. We then get some footage of how completely and utterly mundane Shaun's life is before the plot really begins to thicken. One of the best lines in the preview for this movie is "There is no 'I' in team, but there is an I in pie... um, meat pie, er, meat is an anagram for team, I dunno".
Shaun's undeniably great sidekick is Ed, a slob who he's known since pre-school. Not only does he spout hilarious lines, but there are actually some pretty emotional scenes between the two of them.
Even though the movie is advertised as a comedy, there are some incredibly disgusting scenes, one of which I actually had to look away from in order to keep my dinner in me. There are also some touching moments and the end of the film is actually rather sad.
Anyway, when it DOES come out in theatres, I plan to see it again. It is not only a freakin side-splitter of a comedy, it is actually well-acted. My only conclusion is GO SEE IT. September 24th, mark your calendars or zombies will come and eat your brains ("don't say that!"... "what?"... "the z-word!")