A British Bellyful of Laughs

Rating: 8/10 (8 March 2008)

British comedies remain an ilk of their own - smart, sassy, full of quips rendered so quickly that many are lost in the ether that propels the plot, and characters who often are such finely-honed parodies that they make us laugh at ourselves. HOT FUZZ is a fine example and it is a film brimming with a cast of some of England's finest talent who seem to be having as much fun as the viewing audience.
Sgt. Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is one of London's finest new policemen, expecting a smart career in the big city, but instead is transferred by jealous superiors (including Bill Nighy) to a little village where his rigorous training seems wasted on the sleepy town. After a first night's arrest of youthful pubsters and an inebriate driver, he reports to duty to discover the that his first 'arrest' is to be his partner PC Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) who just happens to be the slow son of the chief, Inspector Butterman (Jim Broadbent). The staff at the police station resembles a vaudeville team played by such fine actors as Paddy Considine, Rafe Spall, Timothy Dalton etc, not exactly what Angel had in mind as a career advancing opportunity. But soon enough the threads of evil that are beneath the silly facade of the village begin to unravel and what follows is a hilarious, almost Keystone Cop attack on the loonies in this take off of an Agatha Christie plot that curdled.
And that only touches the surface of this witty little farce: the innuendoes pop up out of every situation, giving the astute viewer quiet chuckles throughout the film. Hidden from obvious view are little vignettes by such luminaries as Cate Blanchett, Steve Coogan, and Peter Jackson! Director Edgar Wright, who wrote the script with Simon Pegg, knows his way around the genre and the result is an hysterically funny evening's entertainment. Grady Harp