by kellie abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
With 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, the British comedy-writing dream team of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright developed their unique version of a zombie movie, creating the first ever “rom-com-zom” or romantic comedy with zombies. The boys reunited again this year for Hot Fuzz, a police action comedy starring Pegg and Shaun co-star Nick Frost. The film is considered by many to be one of the best comedies of the year. See for yourself this week as Hot Fuzz makes its way to DVD.
Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is the best cop in London, with an arrest rate 400% higher than anyone else on the force. Angel, it turns out, is actually too good. With his enthusiasm and love for the job making everyone else look bad, Angel is transferred to Sanford, a sleepy little village where nothing ever seems to happen. Teamed up with the kindly Inspector’s (Jim Broadbent) action-movie-obsessed son, Danny Butterman (Frost), Angel finds his impressive crime-fighting skills are of little use in a town where the biggest problem seems to be a loose swan. Just as he’s about to submit to a dull life in the country, a succession of horrifying deaths shake things up. Angel is convinced these incidents are the work of a murderer and Danny’s just glad to have a little Hollywood-esque excitement in the quiet little burg. But, the rest of the town chalks each bizarre fatality up to a terrible accident. With his partner by his side, Angel is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery no matter what.
Hot Fuzz was a tremendous success both critically and at the box office. Scoring a 90% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com, it is the fifth highest-rated film of the year thus far. Fans backed up the sentiment at the box office, with the Hot Fuzz grossing over $74 million worldwide during its 9-week theatrical run. Like Shaun of the Dead, many are expecting Hot Fuzz to find even more fans with its DVD release.
The Hot Fuzz DVD has a nice helping of extras, but unfortunately, not nearly as many as the UK release. Those who have access to multi-region DVD players should probably buy the Region 2 Two-Disc edition, which includes three more audio commentaries than the US release plus six featurettes, a half-hour documentary, video blogs and much more. While our release pales in comparison, there’s plenty here to keep fans of Wright and the boys more than occupied for a while. Twenty-two deleted/extended scenes, clocking in at around 20 minutes, can be viewed with or without director commentary. There’s also a hilarious outtake reel, filled with over 10 minutes of giggle-inducing flubs and goofs. Fans will enjoy watching the film’s audio commentary with Pegg and Wright, but they may appreciate the “Fuzz-O-Meter” and “Storyboard” mode even more. Like VH1’s Pop-Up Video, the “Fuzz-O-Meter” gives viewers trivia tidbits as the film plays. Selecting “Storyboards” allows viewers to see scenes in storyboard-form as they come up, providing fans a unique look at the filmmaking process. My personal favorite is the 28-minute featurette “Hot Fuzz in the USA,” where you can see Wright, Pegg and Frost crisscross the country to promote the film. Here, the guys visit cinematic landmarks, sit through numerous post-screening Q&As and show the world how they keep sane during long days of phone interviews (there’s stripping involved). This fascinating and hysterical extra shows just how down-to-earth these guys really are and how well they get along away from the set. Other extras include trailers, a G-rated version of the film called “Hot Funk,” and more.
It’s hard not to love Hot Fuzz, particularly if you’re a fan of British comedy. But even if you’re not, Pegg and Wright have managed to make this film extremely accessible, cutting a lot of the dryness but keeping the English essence intact. At one point or another, each character, down to the most minor ones, made me laugh out loud. Between all the throwbacks to popular action movies, the one-liners (and sometimes one-worders) and the silly physical comedy, the film is packed with enough gags to elicit at least one giggle from even the most cynical moviegoer. The humor is, needless to say, great, but Hot Fuzz is more than just a comedy. The film manages to have some really stellar action sequences and an intriguing murder mystery with a surprising twist. The over-the-top death scenes may be a tad hard to handle for those who are super squeamish, but the rest of the film is well worth a little seat squirming and grimacing here and there.
It’s pretty simple: if you liked Shaun of the Dead, there’s no way you’ll find fault with Hot Fuzz. Pegg and Wright have managed to capture lightening in a bottle twice. I’m hoping for a third very soon.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
