Almost.
It’s a miracle Hot Fuzz can sustain
itself under the barrage of references, quotes, and gags it throws at the audience
on a minute by minute basis, but, like the other films in the Cornetto Trilogy,
Shaun of the Dead and The World’s End, what makes Hot Fuzz work is Wright’s commitment to
developing actual characters with flaws and motivations amid all the jokes.
Likewise, the mystery present in Hot Fuzz
– which centers around a series of murders related to property development and
a local cult – is actually interesting, and, better yet, has a nuanced
perspective on topics such as gentrification, class dynamics, and citizen
surveillance. Pegg and Frost are believable in their overblown roles, as is
Timothy Dalton in his sleazy turn as Simon Skinner, the grocery store magnate
at the center of Hot Fuzz’s mystery.
The extended members of the Sanford Police Department each have their own
moment in the spotlight, and some of the funniest gags are given to characters
whose names you’ll likely not remember as the credits roll.
Indeed, the
writing is superb, but what makes Hot
Fuzz shine is the same thing that makes all of Wright’s movies great - the
editing. Somehow, despite intricate plot threads, joke set-ups, and a breakneck
pace, the viewer never gets lost in the film. Visual gags are given time to
unfold in long shots and rapid editing alike, and never is Wright content with
delivering a joke through just sound. It always has to be visual, and Hot Fuzz is a better film because of
this mentality. Everything feels manageable in Hot Fuzz, and there’s even some eloquent storytelling done via the
editing, a rarity in modern comedies. In other words, what Wright and editor
Chris Dickens hone in on here is the same spirit that defined the slapstick
greats of early cinema; make sure the gag makes sense, and never – never! –
take the easy route.
The
camerawork is likewise impressive throughout the film. Wright is a meticulous
stylist who obeys strict conventions of cinema and art; his frames are always
perfectly balanced, and he weaponizes the rule-of-thirds in the same way a
stand-up comedian uses the rule of threes. Every visual element in Hot Fuzz serves a purpose; to talk about
just the spoken jokes would be to ignore half the jokes in the film. I love,
for example, the fence gag, in which Simon Pegg sprints at a series of fences
and eloquently hops them; Butterman, the aforementioned oaf of a partner, opts
instead to just plow straight through the fences, all in one clean, agile shot.
It’s a silly joke, certainly, but it comes at the end of an inspired chase
sequence that both deifies and subverts the hallmarks of great action
filmmaking.
In an
alternate post for Hot Fuzz, I
might’ve just listed all my favorite jokes and barked at you about why they’re
so funny. I could talk, extensively, about how funny I find a one-off
impersonation Pegg does of the way another character says “Yarp,” for example,
or how the antagonistic other members of the Police Department are always
entering the shots in funny ways. Hot Fuzz
is so much more than just being funny though, it’s got an engaging mystery and some
real societal critique, all of which is heightened by Wright’s signature style.
I’ve forced countless friends and family members to watch it, and I’m sure I’ll
force so many more in the years to come. Hot
Fuzz is an utter delight to watch – and rewatch, and rewatch, and rewatch.
-
Harry Todd
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