Sunday, April 22, 2007 - While the film Hot Fuzz, from the same people behind Shaun of the Dead, had an interesting message, studying what happens when reputation and idealism become more important than the difference between right and wrong, it was the storytelling that is odd. I'm usually a fan of dark comedies, but there was something that just didn't seem right when it all panned out.

Angel, being a by-the-book type person, can't believe the way things are run in Sandford and the crimes that are overlooked. His first night in town, he checks in at a hotel run by a woman who he initially thinks calls him a fascist, but in turns out she's just realized the answer to a crossword puzzle. He returns the favor by getting the answer to another of the clues from the crossword puzzle, hag. Angel then finds himself at a local pub to enjoy a few glasses of cranberry juice, and observing several groups of youngsters drinking, Angel asks for ID and busts them, being told by the pub owners that they allow it for "the greater good."

Again, I like the idea and purpose behind the story of Hot Fuzz, but the storyline itself just plays out oddly. It's billed as a comedy, and while there were some definite funny parts, such as the police officer who can't talk intelligibly at all, and Angel and his new partner, Danny Butterman, being referring to as "Crockett and Tubby," the weirdness outshines the giggles, not to mention the fact that throughout, there's some pretty graphic scenes, matching that of a horror flick, not a comedy.

-Laura Tucker