A Romantic Comedy. With Zombies

I saw Hot Fuzz and Run, Fatboy, Run and really enjoyed them (LOVE Hot Fuzz!) and hadn't seen Shaun of the Dead yet. Some would say that's crazy, since Shaun is what put these guys on the map, but as I'm a mystery and action movie person before I'm a zombie movie person, it makes total sense. Still, have been meaning to see it for over a year now, and finally, the Netflix queue caught up to it, so here you go: Shaun of the Dead.

Shaun (Simon Pegg) is dealing with a monotonous dead-end job, playing peace-maker between quarreling flat mates (Nick Frost and Peter Serafinowicz), trying to win back his ex-girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), maintaining family harmony with his mom and step-dad (Penelope Wilton and Bill Nighy), and fighting the undead who are overrunning his London suburb.

The writing was great. I think the thing that made it so good is that they played it straight. It's not a comedy with zombies, it's a zombie movie that's funny, if that makes sense. Not that there aren't quotable lines - the movie's got some great ones. It's more that you have some great dead-pan scenes as Shaun (being so absorbed in his own problems) takes quite a while to realize that the whole of London is being overrun with the living dead around him.

I love the cast. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost said in the extras that Shaun and Ed are really how their relationship was. That explains why the buddy chemistry feel just works. Buddy comedies (like romance movies) just work better when there is a chemistry there. And Bill Nighy is going up there on my list of actors I like. Not that he's particularly charismatic or handsome or anything, but he chooses some good things to work with, and he's versatile. He's one of those actors that you can see him as a washed up rock star (Love Actually), a corrupt politician (The Constant Gardener) or a step-dad-turned-zombie (Shaun) and forget that you're watching "Bill Nighy." I just really like actors like that. I guess it's the liking "actors" and not "movie stars." I've definitely noticed that about myself - the actors I like most are the ones that separate themselves from the limelight so the characters remain the focus. There are lots of those sort of actors, I know; he is just one I've noticed more recently.

Oh, and thinking of actors, did anyone else notice that Diane (Lucy Davis) is Maria from the BBC/A&E Pride and Prejudice? The one with Colin Firth, of course. You know, 10 years later and with make-up and all. Was quite proud of catching that connection :) Or am I the only one with both of those dorkinesses?

As a warning, for those who care about these sorts of things in movies, there is a lot of swearing and a lot of gore. Not horrendous amounts of gore, honestly - it was probably pretty light as far as zombie movies go. But there was plenty of swearing. Just be forewarned.

One of the fun things with this movie is seeing how many jokes were carried over into Hot Fuzz. Things like "What, you've never used a shortcut?" and the multiple references to Cornettos and "Pub?" just became all the funnier when you see how they showed up in one movie and then show up differently in a second. I love shows that do that with the inside jokes for the fans. (The Justice Leage/JLU cartoons were FULL of them - Anne and I regularly squealed like the little fangirls we are)

And for true awesome, dorky goodness, check out what she's made. She has also made a Hellboy, among other projects. Almost surpasses the knitted Morbo toy as my favorite random knitting project. I love knitters, and I love knitting dorks even more :)

Review: 5 of 5. Definitely shelf-worthy!