Hot Fuzz in 50 words or less: Small town. Big explosions. City cop and his new partner, country cop, become wrapped up in village intrigue, American movies, and murder disguised as accidents. Conspiracy theories and gunplay ensue.
[Spoilers will go after a break/under a cut.]
So Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are my new heroes, and oddly enough, I don't mean that in an action-packed/ rifle-blazing/ zombie-killing way. They're simply a fantastic storytelling duo -- guys with a real knack for folding comedy, action, plot, and pathos into one engaging package. What can I say? I'm a sucker for smart movies ... especially smart movies disguised as dumb movies, with all the guilty pleasures that dumb movies so copiously provide.
The pacing on Hot Fuzz is approximately parallel to Shaun of the Dead; that is, it begins slow on the blood-and-guts and fast on the talky, and then it goes on in a sine curve. Gently up and down it bobs, between mystery exposition and creatively styled violence. And somehow it never devolves into any of the boring pitfalls of "fish-out-of-water" comedies, despite the obvious potential for it.
Big! City! Cop! takes post at a small. quiet. village. It could've gone stupider than a set of bowling cleats, but deft writing tugs the plot away from the corny precipice and it balances nicely there -- on the cusp of Tense and Funny. I just love a good tightrope act.
What makes this movie work is the same trick that made Shaun of the Dead something more than a slasher zombie flick: the protagonist is charmingly flawed and utterly believable. Actually, Pegg's "Angel" is the other side of the same coin as his "Shaun." He's a guy so fixated with routine that he's isolated himself from meaningful human contact. Although Shaun's foible was pure lack of ambition, Angel's is the opposite -- he's so determined to be the best cop in the world that, bless his heart, he actually succeeds. But just as it takes a boring ass to be a perpetual 20-year-old kid, so too is Top Cop friendless and oddly neurotic. Sergeant Angel is such a ridiculous parody of law and order that even other cops can't stand him, and by way of enabling (nay, encouraging) his withdrawal, they send him to a rural post where -- it is to be hoped -- he can go annoy fewer people.
In Sandford, where life is slow and the cops are happily bored, Sergeant Angel attempts a crackdown on minor offenses. His rabid enforcement doesn't bother the chief of police, who just lets everybody go and orders restitution in the form of expensive desserts to be shared by the force. Everyone wins! Except for Sergeant Angel, who eventually finds himself just as bored and unmotivated as the rest of the force ... until a series of strange accidents seem a little too tidy to be coincidences, and his interest in procedure is once again piqued.
In the course of the ensuing investigations, the good Sergeant uncovers quite a lot of promising menace -- some of it correct, some of it completely off-base. But all of it is enthusiastically assisted by his new partner, the easy-going constable Danny Butterman -- slightly slow son of the police chief and full-time addict of American action movies. In Danny, Nicholas Angel finds the first friend he's had in, well, probably ages. He might not be the sort of friend the Sergeant would expect to cultivate, but Danny's optimism, eagerness, and naivety knock upon the backdoor of Angel's chilly heart: his protective instincts.
As the mystery unravels and the shit hits the fan, the firearms come out of the closets and the bullets start to fly. Sergeant Angel's confidence and skills are restored and embraced, and Danny gets to live out his wildest fantasies -- most of which involve flying through the air while simultaneously yelling his head off and firing like a madman.
And when the big reveal unfolds ... below this spot there be spoilers.
And when the big reveal unfolds, we learn that all this time Sergeant Angel was surrounded by people who were just like him after all ... except with a different set of priorities. He fanatically pursued the trivialities and appearances of the Law above all else; and the malevolent Neighborhood Watch Association sought the trivialities and appearances of a Good Community above all else.
Therefore, Angel is in a uniquely ideal position to see just how deeply perverse and stupid the NWA's reasons were for "cleansing" their streets of undesireable citizens. They're exactly the kinds of reasons that led him to become both highly successful as a cop and intensely irritating to reasonable people.
The NWA members have tunnel-visioned their fine goals (a clean, attractive town, happy citizenry) into motives for murder. Angel spent his career fixated on his fine goal (civil order) until it was an excuse for absolutism. But making friends with Danny tempered his sense of Judge Dredd-y righteous indignation, and now that a tiny shred of perspective has been introduced, he looks upon the NWA with true horror. Not only are they obsessive and crazy; they're obsessive and crazy and exactly like him -- isolated, neurotic, controlling, and (in their own ways) deeply unhappy.
In short, this is a most excellently well-rounded film, and I give it two thumbs up and 4-1/2 stars.*
Well played, Mr. Pegg.
Well played.
* Minus 1/2 a star for inexcusable dearth of zombies.
[Spoilers will go after a break/under a cut.]
So Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright are my new heroes, and oddly enough, I don't mean that in an action-packed/ rifle-blazing/ zombie-killing way. They're simply a fantastic storytelling duo -- guys with a real knack for folding comedy, action, plot, and pathos into one engaging package. What can I say? I'm a sucker for smart movies ... especially smart movies disguised as dumb movies, with all the guilty pleasures that dumb movies so copiously provide.
The pacing on Hot Fuzz is approximately parallel to Shaun of the Dead; that is, it begins slow on the blood-and-guts and fast on the talky, and then it goes on in a sine curve. Gently up and down it bobs, between mystery exposition and creatively styled violence. And somehow it never devolves into any of the boring pitfalls of "fish-out-of-water" comedies, despite the obvious potential for it.
Big! City! Cop! takes post at a small. quiet. village. It could've gone stupider than a set of bowling cleats, but deft writing tugs the plot away from the corny precipice and it balances nicely there -- on the cusp of Tense and Funny. I just love a good tightrope act.
What makes this movie work is the same trick that made Shaun of the Dead something more than a slasher zombie flick: the protagonist is charmingly flawed and utterly believable. Actually, Pegg's "Angel" is the other side of the same coin as his "Shaun." He's a guy so fixated with routine that he's isolated himself from meaningful human contact. Although Shaun's foible was pure lack of ambition, Angel's is the opposite -- he's so determined to be the best cop in the world that, bless his heart, he actually succeeds. But just as it takes a boring ass to be a perpetual 20-year-old kid, so too is Top Cop friendless and oddly neurotic. Sergeant Angel is such a ridiculous parody of law and order that even other cops can't stand him, and by way of enabling (nay, encouraging) his withdrawal, they send him to a rural post where -- it is to be hoped -- he can go annoy fewer people.
In Sandford, where life is slow and the cops are happily bored, Sergeant Angel attempts a crackdown on minor offenses. His rabid enforcement doesn't bother the chief of police, who just lets everybody go and orders restitution in the form of expensive desserts to be shared by the force. Everyone wins! Except for Sergeant Angel, who eventually finds himself just as bored and unmotivated as the rest of the force ... until a series of strange accidents seem a little too tidy to be coincidences, and his interest in procedure is once again piqued.
In the course of the ensuing investigations, the good Sergeant uncovers quite a lot of promising menace -- some of it correct, some of it completely off-base. But all of it is enthusiastically assisted by his new partner, the easy-going constable Danny Butterman -- slightly slow son of the police chief and full-time addict of American action movies. In Danny, Nicholas Angel finds the first friend he's had in, well, probably ages. He might not be the sort of friend the Sergeant would expect to cultivate, but Danny's optimism, eagerness, and naivety knock upon the backdoor of Angel's chilly heart: his protective instincts.
As the mystery unravels and the shit hits the fan, the firearms come out of the closets and the bullets start to fly. Sergeant Angel's confidence and skills are restored and embraced, and Danny gets to live out his wildest fantasies -- most of which involve flying through the air while simultaneously yelling his head off and firing like a madman.
And when the big reveal unfolds ... below this spot there be spoilers.
And when the big reveal unfolds, we learn that all this time Sergeant Angel was surrounded by people who were just like him after all ... except with a different set of priorities. He fanatically pursued the trivialities and appearances of the Law above all else; and the malevolent Neighborhood Watch Association sought the trivialities and appearances of a Good Community above all else.
Therefore, Angel is in a uniquely ideal position to see just how deeply perverse and stupid the NWA's reasons were for "cleansing" their streets of undesireable citizens. They're exactly the kinds of reasons that led him to become both highly successful as a cop and intensely irritating to reasonable people.
The NWA members have tunnel-visioned their fine goals (a clean, attractive town, happy citizenry) into motives for murder. Angel spent his career fixated on his fine goal (civil order) until it was an excuse for absolutism. But making friends with Danny tempered his sense of Judge Dredd-y righteous indignation, and now that a tiny shred of perspective has been introduced, he looks upon the NWA with true horror. Not only are they obsessive and crazy; they're obsessive and crazy and exactly like him -- isolated, neurotic, controlling, and (in their own ways) deeply unhappy.
In short, this is a most excellently well-rounded film, and I give it two thumbs up and 4-1/2 stars.*
Well played, Mr. Pegg.
Well played.
* Minus 1/2 a star for inexcusable dearth of zombies.
Current Location: home -- at the desk in the corner
Current Mood: satisfied
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