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Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) takes his job as a London cop very seriously. So seriously that it cost him his fiancée—and all of his friends, other than his beloved Japanese peace lily. He takes his job so seriously, in fact, that he makes the rest of the cops in London look bad. So they decide to give him a promotion. To sergeant. In a little village in the country, far, far away from London.
The village of Sandford is “the community that cares.” Everyone there knows everyone else. And it’s so sweet and quaint and lovable that it’s been named Village of the Year for several years. But for Sergeant Angel, it’s hell on earth. Nothing ever happens in Sandford—except a little bit of loitering and the occasional drunk driving. The Neighborhood Watch Alliance’s greatest concern is the pesky gold-painted living statue, who continues to show his face in the center of the village.
But Sandford isn’t the utopia it seems to be. Not long after Angel arrives, he starts noticing the high number of accidental deaths that might not be so accidental. Most of the cops in Sandford think he’s just a crazy city cop—and, really, they have better things to do than investigate some ridiculous so-called murders. Like eat ice cream and hang out at the pub. So with the help of his trusty cop-movie-loving constable Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), Angel sets out to uncover the truth.
Since I loved Edgar Wright’s horror comedy Shaun of the Dead, I’d been anxiously awaiting the release of Hot Fuzz. Of course, I realized that I was setting myself up for great disappointment, reminiscent of last year’s painful Pirates 2 Fiasco. So it was with both great excitement and great apprehension that I walked into the screening. But, as it turns out, I had nothing to worry about—because Hot Fuzz is even better than I hoped it would be. It’s every bit as hysterical as Shaun—and maybe even more so. The humor is often dark but always clever—and there’s plenty of it. And while there aren’t any zombies this time around, Fuzz still has its share of Wright’s shockingly wacky violence. Along with the loiterers and underage drinkers, there’s also a mysterious, black-caped villain, who resorts to beheadings, explosions, and any other means necessary.
Though there are some pretty obvious hints about the murderer along the way, you’ll still be in for an amusing surprise or two before the whole thing ends, just as it should—in classic over-the-top cop-movie style.
With its non-stop action and comedy, Hot Fuzz moves along faster than a runaway swan. And it doesn’t hurt that Pegg and Frost have great comic chemistry. Pegg makes a brilliant straight man, and Frost is hilarious as his dim-witted but ever-eager sidekick. Together, they make Hot Fuzz one of the funniest (and quite possibly the funniest) cop movies ever made.
