Thursday, February 4, 2010

229. Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Director: Edgar Wright

Starring: Simon Pegg
Nick Frost
Kate Ashfield

IMDb Rating: 7.9
My Rating: 9

"David, Kill the Queen...what?...THE JUKEBOX!"






Shaun (Simon Pegg) is the guy that tries to please everyone, but always seems to come up short. His girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) has just dumped him because their relationship has become stagnant and mundane. His roommate is constantly irritated that Shaun is doing nothing with his life. The only person he seems to have on his side is his best friend Ed (Nick Frost). Realizing that his life is falling apart around him, Shaun decides that it's time to sort out his life. His first task is to get Liz back, but it looks as though a zombie infestation is going to put his plans on hold. Shaun now has to form a plan to save himself and all of his friends, before he loses his chance to fix all his mistakes.

If you know me personally, you know of my love for Shaun of the Dead. You've seen the poster on my wall and the action figures in my living room. This film is more than zombies to me though. This film does an amazing job of creating very realistic relationships, that completely connect with the audience. Of course there is the obvious love story of Shaun and Liz. The relationship that I like to focus on is the friendship between Shaun and Ed. No matter how vulgar and inappropriate Ed may appear to be, Shaun is always there. When Shaun's roommate gets angry with Ed, it's always Shaun that comes to the rescue. It's friendships like these that make life wonderful, and Shaun of the Dead easily captures that.

What is amazing is how this film completely spoofs zombie movies, yet stands on it's own two feet as a defining film of the genre. Music from George Romero's original Dawn of the Dead score is used a few times in the film. This use of the music pays homage to the revolutionary zombie director, as well sets the tone for the entire film. Director Edgar Wright's trademark fast action edits of regular everyday activities, like putting jelly on bread and flushing the toilet, is on display here as well. The writing is full of foreshadowing to future events. For instance, Shaun is walking down the sidewalk and a kid hits him with a soccer ball. Shaun looks at him and says,"You're dead." Sure enough, you can guess what happens to him a little bit later. Shaun of the Dead pays homage to prior zombie classics, just as much as it's makes it's own mark on the genre.

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are one of my favorite comedy duos in the history of cinema. Their comedic timing with each other is absolutely perfect. Their hilarious banter is littered throughout the film. Pegg's over the top reactions and Ed's nonchalant attitude blend perfectly together. My favorite moment of the film occurs when the two are sitting on the couch and a zombie comes walking in the front door. Simon's reaction is absolutely hysterical. The two then proceed to throw everything from remote controls to ash trays at the zombie. We are very fortunate that this will not be the last that we see these two working together.

There are a thousand more reasons why I love this movie as much as I do. You can call me a fan boy if you'd like, and I would actually gladly accept the title in this instance. My only complaint would be that they never say what caused the zombie outbreak. Although that is a very minute detail in this otherwise outstanding film. For what it is, a romantic zombie comedy (rom-zom-com), Shaun of the Dead is perfect. It is the best comedy to come out in it's decade. The acting is hysterical and at times touching. For all of these reason and more, I give this film my highest recommendation.

2 comments:

  1. Hey man...just found your blog from ESPN and wanted to tell you that you can hear a news report or something early in the film that states that a satellite has unexpectedly re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. Just thought I'd throw that out there for you. Oh, and, you've got red on you.

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  2. thanks for the heads up and thanks for following! there is also a part at the end where they start to say what might have caused it, but then it cuts out.

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