Review

Review Date: 22-April-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Hot Fuzz (2007)

As a testimony to the appeal of 2004's "Shaun of the Dead," many great and/or popular actors appear in the filmmakers' sophomore effort, "Hot Fuzz." The movie boasts cameos by Steve Coogan, Edward Woodward, and Cate Blanchett and longer appearances by Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, and Timothy Dalton, all of whom appear to have a wonderful time. Like its predecessor, "Hot Fuzz" is a comedic send-up of a genre, this time the buddy-cop movie. It runs slightly too long with a lot of wind-up, but even people who don't love buddy-cop flicks can appreciate the actors' enjoyment of the fun.

Co-writer (and erstwhile Shaun) Simon Pegg stars as an über-dedicated police officer named Nicholas Angel who is banished from London because his fellow officers are tired of looking bad in comparison. Assigned to the sleepy hamlet of Sandford, Angel quickly earns the enmity or skepticism of the locals, including all of his new colleagues except childlike constable Danny Butterman (Nick Frost). His obsession with upholding the letter of the law is woefully ill suited for a place oft voted the best village in England, and his exile there is very uncomfortable.

It gets more interesting, at least, when an amateur actor and his adulterous leading lady are beheaded in an apparent car crash. Angel suspects foul play (correctly, as the viewer knows), and his suspicion increases after the town reporter meets a gruesome end in another freak "accident." Aided by new sidekick Danny, who just wants to bask in his experienced glow, Angel follows the trail to a supermarket baron (Dalton) with commercial reasons for wanting the deceased parties out of the way. (Is he the one they call a "fridge magnate?" Some puns fly by quickly.) The motive and murders he finally uncovers, however, are much more bizarre than greed.

Naturally this all leads up to a finale full of guns, car chases, explosions, and every cop-movie cliché known to man. The ending merits hearty guffaws if not outright laughter, although it might feel like too little, too late for diehard action fans. The bulk of "Hot Fuzz" is really the juxtaposition of the city guy with the country hicks and the camaraderie between Pegg and Frost, which is as sweet and touching as it was in "Shaun." The premise is almost too thin for a feature film (perhaps the breakneck editing is meant to create the illusion of detail), but thanks to some clever moments and a willing cast it succeeds at being arresting.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.