Edgar Wright – Brandon Talks Movies

Hot Fuzz

“Let’s just say that we won’t be short of Chunky Monkey for the next month!”

We’ve had cop movies, and we’ve had funny cop movies, but I can’t think of another quirky British parody of a cop movie, let alone one that’s so hilarious as this one. Hot Fuzz, directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, is at once familiar territory, parodying famous cop movies, and also delightfully different, set in a small British town in the country. The combination makes for one of the best parodies I’ve ever seen, and it’s a very good comedy in its own right as well. The Wright-Pegg team matured a lot since Shaun of the Dead, and the brilliance and execution of this movie mark a point when both truly hit their stride.

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Shaun of the Dead

“Just look at the face: it’s vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who’s lost a bet.”

We live in a world today where there are well-written zombie serial dramas, successful zombie action movie franchises, and even zombie romantic comedies. It’s easy to forget that, for a long time, zombies were only a cult hit—they were not exceedingly popular, even when they had a commercial success. But when Resident Evil brought traditional action to zombie movies in 2002 and 28 Days Later brought smart writing to zombie movies in 2003, the stage was set for zombies to move into the spotlight. In 2004, Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim Versus the World) co-wrote and directed the first mainstream zombie comedy movie, Shaun of the Dead, starring Simon Pegg. Bear in mind, I’m watching this just after binge-watching six seasons of The Walking Dead. Does it hold up 12 years later? I think so.

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