REVIEW: HOT FUZZ
After seeing this film, made by Simon Pegg, who directed and starred in Shaun of the Dead, I immediately decided that I would review it. But not in the traditional sense of a film review, but within the guidelines of the Ruthless Guide to '80s Action.
Tagline:
Big Cops. Small Town. Moderate Violence.
Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence:
80s Action gets the shit mocked out of it
Homoeroticism:
Quite a bit -- though admittadly it is in mockery, and kudos to the filmmakers for mocking it. It takes place mainly between hardcore cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) and his small-town action movie enthusiast cohort Danny Butterman. Angel buys flowers for Butterman in the most obvious instance of this tongue-in-cheek homoeroticism, and other instances include numerous professions of friendship, one scene in front of a TV (blaring Bad Boys 2, one of the most homoerotic action films ever) where the audience fully expects an onscreen kiss between Angel and Butterman after a drunken companionship moment, and of course all the cocked guns (pun intended). The homoeroticism mockery is, while quite hilarious, not nearly as numerous in instances as it should have been, considering Chuck Norris's outfit in Invasion USA:
But all things considered, all bases were thoroughly covered. Although my boner might be a bit bigger had Butterman not been a fat slob.
Corpse Count:
The corpse count is actually much higher than the count of onscreen deaths, of which there were only five -- a bit disappointing considering the giant shootout at the end of the film. However, the five that occur are thoroughly satisfying -- including a reporter getting his head crushed by a falling church spire, which then imbeds itself into his now-concave body. One man's house explodes, a woman gets shears thrust into her throat, and two lovers get beheaded, their severed noggins resting peacefully on the pavement afterwards. Other deaths include six-or-so underage drinkers, a farmer (Mr Filch from Harry Potter), and a human statue in one of the many humorous moments. But yeah, there should have been ten more onscreen deaths, and for a while it seems like there will be, until said victims are seen alive and well later on. Oh well.
How Bad Is It Really?
Pretty fucking good. Any tedious moment is put there purposely, any incredibly stupid twist (of which there are many) is completely deliberate; basically, any weakness of the modern action film is not a weakness of Hot Fuzz. These often-breathtaking lapses of filmmaking ability are waded into and splashed around by Pegg and Frost, and unintentional humor in "regular" action films is made completely purposeful. Therefore, it's hard to argue that aside from some overacting (which is probably also intentional) the film has no weakness, since any weaknesses it might have are completely purposeful. I've just confused myself. It's completely foolproof filmmaking. Also, the blatant reference to Backdraft, which had been purposely set-up earlier in the film, was drop-dead hysterical.
One-Liner:
Plenty. In fact, wayyyy too many to remember, all of them quality. Most of them could probably be quantified as "post-mortem" one-liners, which shall be dealt with later, but they just flow and flow. It could be said that they don't flow enough, as the vast majority are relegated to the final 45 minutes, in which the full-on action satire begins rather than the first portion of the movie, which is mainly delegated to mocking BBC detective shows like Inspector Morse. The strangest is when two characters on two different occasions exclaim, "By the power of Greyskull!" -- a reference, for some reason, to He-Man.
There's a reference to Chinatown that's also unexpected, out-of-place, and weirdly hilarious:
Butterman: Forget it Nick...it's Sandford.
To set this one up, it must be noted that there is a small model of the Sandford village that has been built.
Andy Wainwright: You wanna be a big cop in a small town? Fuck off to the model village.
The movie is painfully self-aware of the one liners, which leads to this exchange, after Angel has just deposited a trolley boy (still living, sadly) into a grocery store freezer:
Butterman: Where's the trolley boy?
Angel: In the freezer.
Butterman: Did you say anything, like, "cool off?"
Angel: Umm, no, not really.
Butterman: Awww, shame.
Angel: Well, you would have been proud of me before, when he attacked me in the hotel and I distracted him with the cuddly toy and I said, "Playtime's over" and hit him over the head with the plant pot.
Post-Mortem One-Liner:
Most of the one-liners are considered "post-mortem," even though the victims never actually die. For instance, when the sexually-charged policewoman who's been making racy jokes takes out an attacking woman, she says:
Doris Thatcher: Nothing like a bit of girl on girl!
There are several more that I can't remember, but the absolutely most awesome one-liner occurs after the town doctor (also a villain) is shot in the foot and begins wailing in pain:
Angel: You're a doctor! Deal with it!
Novelty Death:
The absolutest novelty death ever made occurs when, as stated, the reporter (named Messenger) is murdered by a small church spire being pushed off the roof of said church, turning upside down, and both crushing his head and impaling his body through the neck. One part gruesome, two parts awesome.
Was There A Stupid Chief?
Yes, played by Bill Nighy, whom I will forever know as Slartibartfast (not Davy Jones; fuck you), although he's only in the film at the very beginning and very end. He's the one who sends Angel to Sandford in the first place.
What You Learned:
A) Satire isn't dead
B) I need to go watch Commando a couple more times.
Grade: B
After seeing this film, made by Simon Pegg, who directed and starred in Shaun of the Dead, I immediately decided that I would review it. But not in the traditional sense of a film review, but within the guidelines of the Ruthless Guide to '80s Action.
Tagline:
Big Cops. Small Town. Moderate Violence.
Entire Story In Fewer Words Than Are In This Sentence:
80s Action gets the shit mocked out of it
Homoeroticism:
Quite a bit -- though admittadly it is in mockery, and kudos to the filmmakers for mocking it. It takes place mainly between hardcore cop Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) and his small-town action movie enthusiast cohort Danny Butterman. Angel buys flowers for Butterman in the most obvious instance of this tongue-in-cheek homoeroticism, and other instances include numerous professions of friendship, one scene in front of a TV (blaring Bad Boys 2, one of the most homoerotic action films ever) where the audience fully expects an onscreen kiss between Angel and Butterman after a drunken companionship moment, and of course all the cocked guns (pun intended). The homoeroticism mockery is, while quite hilarious, not nearly as numerous in instances as it should have been, considering Chuck Norris's outfit in Invasion USA:
But all things considered, all bases were thoroughly covered. Although my boner might be a bit bigger had Butterman not been a fat slob.
Corpse Count:
The corpse count is actually much higher than the count of onscreen deaths, of which there were only five -- a bit disappointing considering the giant shootout at the end of the film. However, the five that occur are thoroughly satisfying -- including a reporter getting his head crushed by a falling church spire, which then imbeds itself into his now-concave body. One man's house explodes, a woman gets shears thrust into her throat, and two lovers get beheaded, their severed noggins resting peacefully on the pavement afterwards. Other deaths include six-or-so underage drinkers, a farmer (Mr Filch from Harry Potter), and a human statue in one of the many humorous moments. But yeah, there should have been ten more onscreen deaths, and for a while it seems like there will be, until said victims are seen alive and well later on. Oh well.
How Bad Is It Really?
Pretty fucking good. Any tedious moment is put there purposely, any incredibly stupid twist (of which there are many) is completely deliberate; basically, any weakness of the modern action film is not a weakness of Hot Fuzz. These often-breathtaking lapses of filmmaking ability are waded into and splashed around by Pegg and Frost, and unintentional humor in "regular" action films is made completely purposeful. Therefore, it's hard to argue that aside from some overacting (which is probably also intentional) the film has no weakness, since any weaknesses it might have are completely purposeful. I've just confused myself. It's completely foolproof filmmaking. Also, the blatant reference to Backdraft, which had been purposely set-up earlier in the film, was drop-dead hysterical.
One-Liner:
Plenty. In fact, wayyyy too many to remember, all of them quality. Most of them could probably be quantified as "post-mortem" one-liners, which shall be dealt with later, but they just flow and flow. It could be said that they don't flow enough, as the vast majority are relegated to the final 45 minutes, in which the full-on action satire begins rather than the first portion of the movie, which is mainly delegated to mocking BBC detective shows like Inspector Morse. The strangest is when two characters on two different occasions exclaim, "By the power of Greyskull!" -- a reference, for some reason, to He-Man.
There's a reference to Chinatown that's also unexpected, out-of-place, and weirdly hilarious:
Butterman: Forget it Nick...it's Sandford.
To set this one up, it must be noted that there is a small model of the Sandford village that has been built.
Andy Wainwright: You wanna be a big cop in a small town? Fuck off to the model village.
The movie is painfully self-aware of the one liners, which leads to this exchange, after Angel has just deposited a trolley boy (still living, sadly) into a grocery store freezer:
Butterman: Where's the trolley boy?
Angel: In the freezer.
Butterman: Did you say anything, like, "cool off?"
Angel: Umm, no, not really.
Butterman: Awww, shame.
Angel: Well, you would have been proud of me before, when he attacked me in the hotel and I distracted him with the cuddly toy and I said, "Playtime's over" and hit him over the head with the plant pot.
Post-Mortem One-Liner:
Most of the one-liners are considered "post-mortem," even though the victims never actually die. For instance, when the sexually-charged policewoman who's been making racy jokes takes out an attacking woman, she says:
Doris Thatcher: Nothing like a bit of girl on girl!
There are several more that I can't remember, but the absolutely most awesome one-liner occurs after the town doctor (also a villain) is shot in the foot and begins wailing in pain:
Angel: You're a doctor! Deal with it!
Novelty Death:
The absolutest novelty death ever made occurs when, as stated, the reporter (named Messenger) is murdered by a small church spire being pushed off the roof of said church, turning upside down, and both crushing his head and impaling his body through the neck. One part gruesome, two parts awesome.
Was There A Stupid Chief?
Yes, played by Bill Nighy, whom I will forever know as Slartibartfast (not Davy Jones; fuck you), although he's only in the film at the very beginning and very end. He's the one who sends Angel to Sandford in the first place.
What You Learned:
A) Satire isn't dead
B) I need to go watch Commando a couple more times.
Grade: B
ms_magdalena:
Whoa, I was totally your friend before the whole thing happened. How are you, sweetheart?