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Movie Review - Shaun of the Dead (2004)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Edgar Wright |
| Starring: |
Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, and Nick Frost |
| Rated: |
R (for zombie violence/gore and language) |
| Length: |
99 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy/Horror |
| Tagline: |
A romantic comedy. With zombies. |
| Studio: |
Rogue Pictures |
| Website: |
Shaun of the Dead |
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PLOT
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Shaun (Simon Pegg) is a 29-year-old slacker (the oldest looking 29-year-old you'll ever see) who lacks
ambition in life. He's an underachiever, and he can't even go to the trouble to make dinner reservations
for his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield). Liz finally gets tired of it and decides the relationship isn't
working out. Not to worry. Once zombies start roaming London for no apparent reason, Shaun gets an
opportunity to rescue his girlfriend and others in an effort to show that he can achieve something.
A movie that fails to live up to its hype ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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Overrated. Overhyped. Underwhelming. I haven't seen a movie fail to live up to the hype this much
since The Blair Witch Project. Remember how it was supposed to be the scariest movie of all
time? Then do you remember sitting in the theater cheering for the witch to kill off the three crybabies
who kept fussing over a stupid map?
Well, if you go into Shaun of the Dead expecting one of the funniest movies of the year and a
masterpiece in the spoof genre, then you're going to be very disappointed as you stare at the screen
and wonder when the humor will start. Please don't believe any of the reviewers claiming it's "a
laugh-a-minute." The only way that would be possible is if you're referring to the trailer. It took
almost 30 minutes before the FIRST laugh ever came.
That's not an exaggeration. About the first 30 minutes of the story are spent showing us how much
of a slacker Shaun is and how irresponsible he is in his relationship with Liz. I guess this is
all supposed to make us like him more when he decides to save Liz and everybody around him from the
zombies. Doesn't work. I was just sitting there bored out of my mind waiting for something, anything
to happen.
The best I can possibly say about this movie is it's merely OK. I think a viewer's enjoyment will be
largely based on his perception going into the movie. After watching the trailer, I was expecting an
all-out comedy/parody. And there are a few funny moments (for example, Shaun and his friend
act somewhat nonchalantly towards the zombies at first as they use cricket bats and old LPs to do
battle), but most of the humor can be found in the trailer.
The main problem with Shaun of the Dead is it has major identity conflict. It doesn't know what it
wants to be. It spoofs the zombie genre for a bit, but then we have to sit through emotional moments
that put a damper on everything. I thought this was supposed to be a comedy, so why do I have to sit
through a scene with Shaun crying while trying to make decisions about what to do to certain people who
have turned into zombies?
And then you have some pretty graphic moments that make it seem like the movie wants to have a legitimate
horror movie feel. This doesn't work because the movie isn't the least bit scary. The result is the movie
doesn't know exactly what it wants to be. For that reason, I think the mainstream American audience won't
connect with it.
The people this will connect with the most are the coffeehouse artsy types who'll love discussing the social
commentary. But for me, the social commentary is about as effective as shaving with a rubber band. Exactly.
Way too much time is dedicated to trying to show us that we all live zombie-like lives. We sit glaze-eyed in
front of the TV playing video games, we all follow our own little cliques, we head to work in the same routine
every day. Yeah, that's great. You could've expressed that point in a single sentence.
There are a handful of funny and clever moments (particularly the end), but I would've liked to have
seen more "shock value" moments played for laughs. Unfortunately, Shaun of the Dead looks to
be throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks. Plus, the film makers are apparently in love
with repetition. I hear the wedding is in April. For example, the camera pans up from someone's
feet as he stumbles about. We see the figure yawning and making a weird sound. Oh, it's Shaun. Look,
he's acting like a zombie! How cute. Apparently a critic somewhere must've laughed insanely during a
press screening, so they decided it'd be great to repeat this gag. ONCE WAS ENOUGH!
And please don't tell me I just don't understand British humor. Folks, I get the joke, it just ain't that
funny. If this is the best the British have to offer these days in regard to comedy, then I've never been
prouder to be an American.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Shaun works at Foree Electronics. Ken Foree was one of the stars of the original Dawn of the Dead.
- Shaun of the Dead currently has over a 90% positive rating on rottentomatoes.com. That's ridiculous.
Just to show you where Johnny's coming from... Lost in Translation has a 94% rating on rottentomatoes, and
all the critics could talk about was how funny and great it was. Johnny finally saw it and thought it was one of
the most boring movies he's seen in quite a while.
- Most of the Odds & Ends Johnny could find would not be understood by 99.9% of his readers, so he's not going
to too much trouble over it.
- Simon Pegg was in The Reckoning with Brian Cox who was in X2 with Anna Paquin who was in
All the Rage with Josh Brolin who was in The Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This one definitely wouldn't meet mama's approval. Lots of profanity, including a whole lot of "f" words.
There's quite a bit of blood and gore as well. This is definitely not for children or the squeamish.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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The trailer is very misleading. I was led to believe that this was gonna be completely a comedy, but that's
not the case. All the best stuff is crammed into the trailer, so my suggestion is watch the trailer and don't
see the movie. You'll save yourself time AND money.
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THE GIST
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I have no desire to see this again, and I certainly won't recommend it. If you're looking for some
good British comedy then I highly recommend checking out John Cleese's Fawlty Towers. But if
you're in the mood to chuckle once or twice during a movie and then fight the temptation to fall asleep,
then Shaun of the Dead will fill that bill. Let me put it as bluntly as I possibly can: Don't
believe the hype.
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