Simon Pegg is a Hot Fuzzy

By April MacIntyre Apr 14, 2007, 18:38 GMT

02/13/2007 - Simon Pegg - Hot Fuzz Movie Premiere in London - London\'s West End - London, England © Solarpix / Photorazzi

The British and American sense of humor has often been pitted as distinctly different, with Americans being labeled as a bit thick, “not getting irony,” and the Brits labeled stiffs and closed off to any visible emotional experiences.  Wrong.

The growing presence and influence of BBC America and the years of cross-Atlantic comedic exchanges has whetted the American appetite for even more British humor.  The female-centric “Ab-Fab” endeared us to the team of Jennifer Saunders and the brilliant Joanne Lumley.  Then there was the “original gangster” of bawdy boobs and bum obsessed English humor, Benny Hill. 

More evolved comedies such as Blackadder, Fawlty Towers and the king of all absurdist and satirical British comedy franchises, Monty Python have been savored and appreciated by a couple of generations of American audiences now, and has only created a huge demand for more Britons to make their stake in television and film with their over-emoting and shamelessly sentimental cousins across the pond.  Talents like Ricky Gervais are now reaping the benefits of what trailblazers John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and Peter Cook created with American audiences.

Even the so-called uptight and emotionally closed British have developed a taste for American comedic fare, with the long running series “Friends,” "Scrubs" and the animated “The Simpsons” tops with the UK viewers.

Now, an unlikely average looking Joe is poised to conquer here in the old colony.

Simon Pegg, who delighted us in the hit movie, “Shaun of the Dead,” a quirky scripted homage to the zombie films of George Romero, written by Pegg and comedy writing partner and director Edgar Wright, has busted out once again in his latest film follow up,  “Hot Fuzz.”  

The premise takes cues from the excessive Bruckheimer flavored buddy/cop film genre, cramming the obscene action into the unlikely setting of the serene frame of English existence, the quaint country village. 

In "Fuzz", Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, described as a super-efficient London cop whose superiors banish him to the small town of Sandford.  Unlike his previous character “Shaun,” who learns the value of being accountable, Pegg’s new role as Nick is über responsible.  

Then there is comedic relief, the Essex boy, Nick Frost, who played the tact-free and guileless sidekick Ed in “Shaun,” appearing alongside Pegg, continuing their on-screen mojo together in "Fuzz."

Pegg has legs in the film industry, and counts Tarantino, Rodriguez, Romero, and even Spielberg as ardent fans of his film fare.

"We wanted the film to be a synthesis of our two cultures," said Pegg in an interview with Moviehole. "It's like Agatha Christie being taken over by Tony Scott; it’s the extreme ends of both cinematic cultures. The villages of English cinema are usually depicted as traditional and lovely. The other extreme is a picture of American society that's completely lawless and in which everyone has guns. . . . We thought it would be fun to offset the quaintness with a lot of violence - albeit in Tom and Jerry style."