The Reel Life: "The Cornetto Trilogy"

Hello, I’m Jacob DiLandro. I love movies. So, I decided to talk about some of my favorite films in a series of articles. These films could be from any era, be it 40 years ago or 4 weeks ago. Each film I talk about I have deep seated feelings for, so trust me when I say I’ll have plenty to talk about.

It’s 2004, and Pete Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy has just seen a film that he decrees is ‘destined to become a cult classic.’ It isn’t a big budget sci-fi extravaganza or a fantasy action epic. The film is a small-budgeted British comedy about love and zombies.“Shaun of the Dead” was released in 2004 and was directed by Edgar Wright. It was written by Wright and Simon Pegg, who also starred as the titular character.

The film was an immediate success and began to inspire other zombie-themed comedies, but why was it a success? For starters, the film had fantastically written dialogue. When characters say a line before the zombie apocalypse and then repeat the line after the apocalypse, the lines take on a whole new meaning. For example, when running into an old friend from school, she asks Shaun “Oh, how are you doing, Shaun?” to which he replies, “Surviving.” This same line is then repeated later in the film. However, now the context involves zombies.

Only three years after the release of “Shaun of the Dead,” Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and co-star Nick Frost returned with “Hot Fuzz.” The film was another satirical British comedy. Although, this time it set its sights on the action cop genre. By taking a big city, no nonsense cop and placing him in a tiny, rural English town, the guys were able to poke fun at many different elements of action films, such as the blinding stupidity of the law enforcement behind the towns and the obliviousness of the local community.

The movie is even better written then "Shaun," with a third act twist that is almost predictable, but then one detail comes completely out of left field and changes everything. There are also even more details in the writing. In one scene, the Cop played by Simon approaches an elderly lady, who runs the motel he is staying in. He asks for some assistance, and she replies with “Fascist!” He is stunned, and she motions to her crossword puzzle. “System of government categorized by extreme dictatorship. Seven across.” “Oh, okay. Hag.” “I beg your pardon son!” “Evil old woman considered frightful or crazy, 18 down.”

The best part about the film is that it not only parodies action films, but it pays tribute to them as well. Characters discuss which one liners are the best to say after attacking a bad guy (“Well, there was the bit that you missed where I distracted him with the cuddly monkey then I said "play time's over" and I hit him in the head with the peace lily.) and which action movies to watch (“Point Break of Bad Boys 2?” “Which one do you think I’ll enjoy most?” “No, which one do you want to watch first?”).

However, the penultimate film from the trio was yet to come, and after six years of waiting “The World’s End” was released in 2013. The film was much darker than the previous and contained a much more emotional core. Without spoiling too much, the plot is about a group of high school friends reunited to re-attempt a mile-long pub crawl that contains one pint at each of their hometowns 12 famous pubs, all ending at the twelfth pub, “The World’s End.”

The genre in the cross-hairs this time is sci-fi as the movie plays with the themes of alienation and growing older. There are numerous elements that reinforce the boyish charm of the previous two films but with a thick layer of timely knowing-ness to it. The writing is especially strong as each name of the twelve pubs references the events that take place in and around those pubs in the film, a neat little nod.

The roles are also reversed, showing of the acting range of both Nick Frost and Simon Pegg as the two play the straight man and bumbling man, respectively, two roles that were flipped in the previous films. As the film progresses though, there are numerous smaller details that stand out. This film has the highest budget out of the three, understandable knowing that now they have proven themselves. The tone is also noticeably darker.

However, this doesn’t sacrifice plenty of quotable and hilarious lines.(“Seeing a man of your legendary prowess drinking…. f***ing rain! It’s like watching a lion eating some humus!”). The darker tone allows Wright and Pegg to really leave the audience with the best time out of the three, but continuously subverting your expectations. Plus, its really remarkable to watch when you realize that the actors all have to act drunk on top of their normal acting.

But why are these films special? Why are they a trilogy? Well, besides the fact that they are all very bloody, and that they all contain a reference to a British ice cream treat, the Cornetto, there is a through line to each film. You can tell that each of these movies were made purely because the people behind it thought that they would have a fun time making them. Each one is layered with quotable dialogue and witty, clever writing, but the biggest fact is that each one isn’t afraid to anchor its story in its characters. While each could exist as parody films in the vein of “Scary Movie,” and be done, the writers took care to make sure that these were characters first and foremost, not just vehicles for jokes.

Each film manages to take a hefty theme and mix it in with its comedy. "Shaun" tackles loss and relationships vs friendships. "Hot Fuzz" tackles loneliness and letting your job get in the way of what makes you happy. "The World’s End" tackles the themes of past and whether or not the future could ever be as good as you’ve made it out to be in your head. The themes never overwhelm the comedy because they are just as baked into the story as the jokes are. These characters and stories feel real despite the outlandish nature of them. That allows the audience to buy into them, have fun with them and feel even more devastated when the emotional climaxes of the film come to fruition.

But again the question comes back to why? Why these films? Why these guys? Well, it’s simple. They care. You can tell that they care about what they are putting on the screen, and that makes the difference. Whether it’s a couch potato with a cricket bat, a team of cops so good that they make the rest of their departments look bad or a bunch of beer swilling men, by age alone, these guys want you to have fun with their movies. So, they make sure they have fun making them.