Hot Fuzz (2007)

Directed by: Edgar Wright | 121 minutes | action, comedy, crime | Actors: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Lucy Punch, Edward Woodward, Bill Bailey, Stuart Wilson, Paul Freeman, David Bradley, Rafe Spall, Anne Reid, Billie Whitelaw, Olivia Colman, Alice Lowe, Tim Barlow, Kevin Eldon, Adam Buxton, Joseph McManners, Alexander King, Stewart Wilson

Supercop Nicholas Angel has to get rid of the hard crime in London and it’s not easy for him. A highly successful police officer, he has been promoted by jealous superiors to the friendly village of Sandford, which is once again competing for the title of ‘Village of the Year’. The first evening in the local pub already goes wrong. Almost all customers are underage teenagers who are supplied with drinks by the pub owner and his wife for the common good of the village. It’s better for the pussies to drink booze in the pub than to be mean-spirited elsewhere in the village. Nicholas intervenes, of course, but as with any subsequent action, this only gets him laughing at his disinterested colleagues and the other villagers.

There is simply nothing to do in Sandford where everyone is friendly and polite and where there is a lot of laughter and hearty laughter. So it’s no wonder that the police station’s evidence storage room contains only empty shelving units. In the bizarre death of two amateur actors who had an extra-marital affair, Nicholas’s detective feelers stand up again. There is only one problem, and that is that he is the only one who sees more in it than a fatal accident. Nor can he convince his partner Danny Butterman, the son of his boss Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent), that he is right, even if more bizarre accidents occur. Nicholas therefore gradually resigns himself to the slow pace of village life, with a visit to the pub or buying an ice cream from the local tradesmen being one of the highlights of the day. Unlike his predecessor Sergeant Popwell, who was also from London, Nicholas seems to be becoming an exemplary Sandford resident.

You can say a lot about ‘Hot Fuzz’, but not that it’s a boring movie. There is plenty of action, brutal violence that is often completely over-the-top and a lot of corny humor. Some things are very bland and predictable, such as when Nicholas and Danny stop a peeing in public who, while disturbed, naturally pisses all over their shoes or the very stupid colleagues with their very slow working brains. But those are just cosmetic flaws. On the other hand, there is a cartload of really funny jokes, many relevant references to other films or television series and a plot that remains exciting and surprising until the very end.

Beautiful is of course the interplay between Pegg as the police officer who is full of adrenaline and is also on duty when he is not working and Frost as the naive partner who wants to drink a beer in the evening after work. Completely in the tradition of a police buddy movie, they form an opposite pair. This is further emphasized by the physical difference: a top fit, toned Pegg and the obese, unwieldy Frost. All right. ‘Hot Fuzz’ is fast paced, action packed and sails a very quirky course. An original film that makes you laugh a lot, but at the same time has a nice dark undercurrent.