2008 Woodie Awards
'Shaun' rips into romance
Elizabeth Sinclair-Smith
Date created: 10/11/04 Section: ENTERTAINMENT
Perhaps the film's finest performance belongs to Bill Nighy, who plays Shaun's step-father with such iciness that during his first appearance, he could be mistaken for a zombie. Nighy, who is known for his character roles in movies like "Love Actually," and "Still Crazy," seems to relish every dry line he speaks and even after death insists Shaun and company keep their hands off his precious Jaguar's radio.
Aside from the witty dialogue, the sight gags, which are crucial to such a movie, are numerous and thoroughly enjoyable. One zombie meets his demise in the Winchester by being beaten to zombie-death with pool cues, to the tune of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" (thanks to the jukebox's "random"). In one particularly hilarious scene, it becomes obvious why child safety locks are a bad thing...or at least obvious if you are trapped in the backseat of a car with a zombie. And then there is the nasty flatmate-cum-zombie Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) who wanders around naked. For those of you wondering, this is definitely not a self-conscious zombie.
The idea for "Shaun" spawned from the British TV show "Spaced," which starred Pegg and was directed by the same director, Edgar Wright. On one episode of "Spaced," Pegg's character happened to be trapped in the video game "Resident Evil 2," fighting off zombies. The two liked the idea so much that they decided to do a full-length feature based on the skit.
Indeed, the idea of a romantic comedy with zombies flows well, but near the end of the film, the ideas seem to run out and the movie wraps up quickly. Still, that's the only problem in this gut-rippingly funny feature. So, if you're having a bad day, this might work well as a pick-me-up. At least you don't have to fight off your dead cat with a cricket bat.
Aside from the witty dialogue, the sight gags, which are crucial to such a movie, are numerous and thoroughly enjoyable. One zombie meets his demise in the Winchester by being beaten to zombie-death with pool cues, to the tune of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" (thanks to the jukebox's "random"). In one particularly hilarious scene, it becomes obvious why child safety locks are a bad thing...or at least obvious if you are trapped in the backseat of a car with a zombie. And then there is the nasty flatmate-cum-zombie Pete (Peter Serafinowicz) who wanders around naked. For those of you wondering, this is definitely not a self-conscious zombie.
The idea for "Shaun" spawned from the British TV show "Spaced," which starred Pegg and was directed by the same director, Edgar Wright. On one episode of "Spaced," Pegg's character happened to be trapped in the video game "Resident Evil 2," fighting off zombies. The two liked the idea so much that they decided to do a full-length feature based on the skit.
Indeed, the idea of a romantic comedy with zombies flows well, but near the end of the film, the ideas seem to run out and the movie wraps up quickly. Still, that's the only problem in this gut-rippingly funny feature. So, if you're having a bad day, this might work well as a pick-me-up. At least you don't have to fight off your dead cat with a cricket bat.
