Hot Fuzz: A Scorching Good Time

The tragedy of comedy films is that very few hold up over the years. In many cases, a comedy can fall into the abyss of awkward silences, and stilted, forced laughs. Thankfully, such a fate hasn’t come over Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz (2007). With Coral Gables Art Cinema screening the film later this month, now was a good time for me to experience the film. I can comfortably say that as the second entry in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg’s Three Flavors Cornetto trilogy, Hot Fuzz sits comfortably between Shaun of the Dead (2004) and The World’s End (2013) as one of the great comedy films produced in the last few years.

Over-achieving constable Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) finds himself promoted as the sergeant of Sandford, the city with the least crime in all of Gloucestershire, and stuck as partners with Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), a fellow constable obsessed with buddy-cop films. When the lazy police force of Sandford brush off a series of murders as a simple accident, it’s up to Nick Angel and Danny Butterman to crack the case and catch the murderer. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have undeniable comedic chemistry throughout this movie. Similarly to their pairing in Shaun of the Dead, Pegg and Frost manage to deliver satirical wit and a consistent barrage of great gags at the expense of the buddy cop genre.

Additionally, this film manages to hold its own as a buddy cop action flick. While the comedy might not be everybody’s cup of tea, as there are moments where it can get rather silly, the story can still stand tall among other films from the genre this narrative aims to lampoon. Edgar Wright’s fast-paced cinematic style helps accentuate the action, in addition to keeping the story from reaching any sluggishly slow points.

If you’re a fan of goofy loose-parodies of action films, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not watching Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz. The comedy is well executed, and for those who aren’t a fan of the jokes, the overall story and action is good enough to stand on its own.

You can buy tickets to the June 23rd screening of Hot Fuzz at Coral Gables Art Cinema here. 


George Ibarra is a Senior at Florida International University, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in English with a minor in Sociology, along with Certificates in Exile Studies and Film Studies.