Hatrack River Forum: Hot Fuzz...it doesn't revive the genre, but it's a hilarious tribute.

This is topic Hot Fuzz...it doesn't revive the genre, but it's a hilarious tribute. in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :

This movie doesn't revive the corpse of the mis-matched cops who become buddies genre...but it does act as a wonderfully loopy, creatively bizarre valentine to the genre.

Most of you probably already know the premise...the greatest by-the-book borderline perfect police officer in London gets sent to a wholesome, eccentric small town. There (for at least 30 minutes into the film) all seems like one of the milder, lesser Britcoms one can view on PBS or BBC America.

Or so it seems until people begin dying in extremely gruesome, shocking "accidents", one after another.

Our Hero begins to suspect that the small town hides a Terrible Secret (tm)...and only his supercop buddy-movie loving partner is willing to believe him.

I had an absolute blast watching this movie. While it's a tad too long, piles on several surprise twist endings a bit too thickly after the climax, and the "fun-loving goofball" cop isn't developed as much as he could be...it's still a great example of affectionate spoofing.

[ April 22, 2007, 01:28 AM: Message edited by: Puffy Treat ]

Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :

I saw it a couple weeks ago.

I thought it was sort of clever, but hysterically funny.

Absolutely worth the price of a ticket for anyone who likes British humor.

Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :

quote:

Absolutely worth the price of a ticket for anyone who likes British humor.

And with that I am sold on going to see it. [Big Grin]

Posted by Leonide (Member # 4157) on :

I adored Shaun of the Dead, so i definitely have plans to see this...or probably rent it once it comes to DVD because i have no one to see it with!! [Frown]

Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Leonide:
I adored Shaun of the Dead, so i definitely have plans to see this...or probably rent it once it comes to DVD because i have no one to see it with!!

See I disliked Shaun of the Dead, but that won't stop me from seeing this movie even though its made by mostly the same people.

My only real problem with SOTD was that I had no idea what the movie was trying to be, a comedy? a drama? a look into human nature?

I just don't take drama very seriously when a movie gives an air of comedy, but hey YMMV.

Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :

I would call it a black comedy. It poked fun at suburbanite culture while spoofing a zombie flick, and drew some funny parallels. I liked SOTD enough that I'll be seeing this flick as well.

However, FWIW, I thought Fight Club was a black comedy as well. [Dont Know]

Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :

It isn't?

Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :

The thing is that the most people I've casually discussed the movie with (in non-academic settings) think that the movie is just about glorifying fighting and vandalism- with a twist at the end. If someone didn't see the element of humor in Fight Club, I doubt they'd see it in Shawn of the Dead either.

Of course, in my experience, most people don't think too much about the movies they see, other than ponder one-liners.

Posted by SteveRogers (Member # 7130) on :

Shaun of the Dead isn't really a thinking man's movie necessarily. It's adds an extra layer for people who have intelligent, somewhat dry, senses of humor. But it isn't necessary.

Edit: And I just looked, they don't have Hot Fuzz here either. Drat.

[ April 23, 2007, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: SteveRogers ]

Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :

Hot Fuzz was hilarious. I very very highly recommend it to anyone who likes to laugh and/or be amused.

Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :

Or enjoys the usage of "By the Power of Grayskull!" in a completely non-ironic sense. [Big Grin]

Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :

Saw it yesterday. I brought my boyfriend who wasn't a big fan of Shaun of the Dead (fell asleep first I made him watch it and came out umimpressed after I told him to watch it again.)

We both loved it! Not as classic as SOTD but certainly one to own and watch again.

I had two minor complaints though. First, is that I didn't see SOTD in theatres so while I love the rapid-fire editting (or whatever its called) on DVD, it gave me a headache watching it on the big screen.

Second, after being bombarded this week with the horror of real violence, it was difficult to sit back and enjoy the last third of this movie. I still laughed when I could but the occasional shot of Simon Pegg in his vest with a gun in each hand...it made me feel guilty and alittle nauseous. I don't blame the movie, but its unfortunate that it came out this week.

Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Puffy Treat:
Or enjoys the usage of "By the Power of Grayskull!" in a completely non-ironic sense.

I was so caught off guard by that reference I laughed for like 10 minutes at it.

That was hysterical.

Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :

I saw Hot Fuzz tonight and loved it.

In a way, I thought it was the opposite of SotD, which started out funny and ended on a sad note. I loved the way Hot Fuzz degenerated, and in terms of narrative and cinematography, it was masterfully done. Also, the one liners were awesome.

My only complaint was the shaky-cam during the action scenes. I've never liked the technique, and it almost always serves to remind me that I'm watching a movie. I chose decide it was part of the parody, but still I could have done with less of it.