EIFF
As Edgar Wright’s new fi lm, Baby Driver, speeds into cinemas in June (see review, page 76), the EIFF are celebrating the comedy director with EIFF: Play, a new strand where you’ll be able to tackle retro games after watching Scott Pilgrim, play zombies post-Shaun of the Dead, and see Hot Fuzz at a village fete. Here, three of our writers pick their favourites
SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD (2010) SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
HOT FUZZ (2007)
Of all Edgar Wright’s i lms, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World – the 2010 adaptation of Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O’Malley’s bright, poppy, Manga-esque series – is the most underrated.
Alongside a stunning before-they-were-famous cast (Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans), it starred Michael Cera as the duffel- coated, bass guitar-playing millennial of the title, whose quest is to i ght his way through his dream girlfriend’s evil exes as though he were battling his way through an arcade beat-’em-up. A box ofi ce bomb (Variety called it ‘attention-
dei cit i lmmaking at both its i nest and most frustrating’), the i lm’s heavily stylised production – all sound effect text and frantic jump cuts – rubs many viewers up the wrong way as much as the couldn’t-care-less pose and over-crafted, comic book dialogue of the characters. Yet this was a hundred percent the point, and
it’s easier to see now that Wright crafted a i lm that was ahead of its time; a living personii cation of comic and gamer style for both male and female fans, in which characters invent their own gaming avatars or cosplay personas and live them out IRL. It also set the tone for mainstream cinema in the 2010s, predicting the tone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (David Pollock) ■ See Scott Pilgrim at Potterow on Thu 15 Jun, with a retro game-i lled after-party at Teviot Row House.
Horror comedies are tough to pull off: it’s difi cult balancing laughs and terror effectively. And while Shaun of the Dead is packed with quotable lines, visual gags and killer comic timing, crucially it never forgets to take its monsters seriously. There was an obvious love of the zombie movies that inspired it, particularly the i lms of George A Romero. But the stroke of genius was repositioning the action in faceless London suburbia populated by a bunch of slackers – Simon Pegg as the eponymous Shaun and Nick Frost as his mate Ed. Shaun’s attempts to rescue the love of his life, Liz (Kate Ashi eld), becomes even more heroic in its shambolic ineptitude. Hot Fuzz is the second – and best – of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy. Exceptional London police ofi cer Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is transferred to twee Sandyford, where he and new partner Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) uncover the shocking truth about the Village of the Year in a no-holds-barred action-fest that dei nitely incurs a lot of paperwork. From lead roles down to cameos, it’s a who’s who of British comedy; Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Bill Nighy star as a trio of senior police ofi cers; Stephen Merchant loses a swan; Olivia Coleman is a dirty-minded PC; and the wonderful Bill Bailey plays twin desk sergeants.
And the love was reciprocated with Pegg and Wright There’s a tight script with a proper mystery to solve
popping up with a quick cameo as ‘photo booth zombies’ in Romero’s return to the genre with 2005’s Land of the Dead. It also marks the i rst post-Spaced project from the triumvirate of director Edgar Wright and actors Pegg and Frost, the initial entry in what would become their beloved Cornetto trilogy, a skewed take on the trio’s favourite genres: horror (Shaun), action (Hot Fuzz) and sci-i (The World’s End). Add guest spots from some of the UK’s i nest comic actors (including Dylan Moran, Jessica Hynes, Bill Nighy and Peter Serai nowicz) and you have a near perfect recipe for cult comedy heaven with a side order of brainsssss. (Henry Northmore) ■ Head to the Biscuit Factory on Thu 22 Jun for Shaun of the Dead and a zombie after-party.
and adversaries to overcome yet it’s full of comedy gold. Plus, it’s laden with i lm references: The Shining, Lethal Weapon, Mad Max, Goodfellas, Reservoir Dogs – even Jurassic Park. Hot Fuzz allows Pegg to step into a different role: while Tim of Spaced and Shaun from Shaun of the Dead are both loveable man-childs, here he’s tasked with portraying a dedicated stickler-for-the-rules. It gives him and Frost a totally different dynamic: rather than starting off as friends, they become buddies throughout the i lm. With no token romantic interest to distract from their bromance, it’s the ultimate buddy cop comedy. Bring the noise. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ See Hot Fuzz at EIFF’s very own summer fete, at Church Hill Theatre, Thu 29 Jun.
Find out more at list.co.uk/eiffplay 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017 THE LIST 27