Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.
Over many years Ive said that Shaun of the Dead is my personal favorite movie of all time. And it is. You know why? Simon Pegg. He is the everyman, not pretending to be, but is. He plays the same character (albeit different character traits) in every movie:the loveable loser. Not like a slacker or anything but just down on his luck. And he plays that role brilliantly mainly because he is so charasmatic and charming that you cant help but laugh when he gives that wide eyed goofey grin and says something ridiculous. He is a skinny, British Chris Farley. And if you saw my top 10 you can tell that I love it.
After Shaun of the Dead, his career took off. Granted he was famous back in Britain as a renowned television star, whether it be Spaced or even Doctor Who, but his film career (as a star at least) didnt pick up until after Shaun. After scoring the main role in Big Nothing he became friends with co-star David Schwimmer. After filming Hot Fuzz in 2007 he teamed up with comedian Michael Ian Black to write the script for Run, Fatboy, Run his new comedy that had nothing to do with cultists or zombies but running. Soon they attached Schwimmer to direct and it became a hit in the UK. It was almost shocking then to American audiences that we had to wait until the DVD was released in the UK before it was released in American cinemas. But nobody really cared and people flocked to Pegg's new release.
Its a simple movie really. The same plot youve heard dozens of times in dozens of movies. Guy loves girl, guy makes mistake, they break up but not before having kid, Guy is loser and is jealous of girl's new boyfriend and tries to one up him.
And in this simplicity we get brilliance. Dylan Moran (Dave in Shaun of the Dead) plays a wonderfully witty sidekick named Gordon who helps Dennis (Pegg) out whenever he needs help. What is his newest calling? To help Dennis run a marathon. There in lies the challenge. Dennis is out of shape and sportin a little belly. He also cant run up a flight of stairs without getting winded, and his shorts are too short. And to make matters worse his landlord Mr. Ghosh Dastidar is bugging him about the rent. But eventually Ghosh realizes that Dennis has a dream and appoints himself as "coach".
Meanwhile there is Whit (played by Hank Azaria) Whit is a champion marathon runner and overall a stuck up prick. But you never REALLY hate him as much as the movie puts on. Maybe its because Azaria does a great job with the jokes in this movie that you are laughing to hard to hate. Every line even if its not funny is delivered in a way that cant be taught to any normal actor. Azaria has the gift of great comic timing and animation in his voice (21 years with the Simpsons helps)
What ensues is a hillarious movie that's part Rocky and part Pegg originality.
this is just one example of Pegg's originality. If your wondering he has a rash.
But this film is NOT as good as Shaun or Fuzz. The jokes are a little less frequent in this than the others so for Pegg purists its a bit confusing but when there is a joke the build up may be long but the punch line is hillarious. Its a film with heart and soul and if you are a fan of Pegg or just want to watch a really nice comedy than this is probably the film to see.
MY VERDICT: SEE IT
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