Hot Fuzz (2007)
I enjoyed this spoof on cop movies, murder mysteries, and the English Countryside genre, (combined with a bunch of other random silliness). Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, a top London cop who is so good at his job (he's 400% better than any other officer) that he makes the rest of the force look terrible, so his superiors decide to transfer him to the nicest, safest town in England, Sandford. Sandford is an aggressively cute town that's won village of the year almost every year for decades. When Nick Angel arrives he meets a lot of eccentric locals, an incredibly incompetent local police force (or police "service" as Angel would rather it be called), and his bumbling and enthusiastic partner, Danny Butterman (Nick Frost).
Danny and Angel attempt the capture of an elusive swan.
I laughed more at the first half more than the second (although that definitely has its hilarious moments too) as Angel tries to cope with suddenly being stuck in the coziest town imaginable when all he really wants to do is fight serious criminals. It's also very cute to see the by-the-book Angel soften up under the influence of Danny Butterman and his beer-drinking, Bad Boys II-worshiping ways.
As the movie progresses, strange "accidents" begin bumping off some of the townspeople and it's up to Angel to solve the crimes. My favorite part of the movie might be when (after about four other suspicious deaths) a woman is stabbed in the throat with a pair of gardening shears and the other police officers are amazed that Angel might think it wasn't an accident. The whole thing reminded me of a slightly more grounded Anchorman - just a lot of silliness and running gags that pay off wonderfully. Hot Fuzz is slightly overlong, but it's very charming and nice to see if you need some cheering up.
Danny and Angel attempt the capture of an elusive swan.
I laughed more at the first half more than the second (although that definitely has its hilarious moments too) as Angel tries to cope with suddenly being stuck in the coziest town imaginable when all he really wants to do is fight serious criminals. It's also very cute to see the by-the-book Angel soften up under the influence of Danny Butterman and his beer-drinking, Bad Boys II-worshiping ways.
As the movie progresses, strange "accidents" begin bumping off some of the townspeople and it's up to Angel to solve the crimes. My favorite part of the movie might be when (after about four other suspicious deaths) a woman is stabbed in the throat with a pair of gardening shears and the other police officers are amazed that Angel might think it wasn't an accident. The whole thing reminded me of a slightly more grounded Anchorman - just a lot of silliness and running gags that pay off wonderfully. Hot Fuzz is slightly overlong, but it's very charming and nice to see if you need some cheering up.