7.5/10
I will never forget my college bars. There was the Irish Emigrant for the pub
trivia nights, the All-American for the infrequent wet t-shirt girls, Earl’s
for the insanely strong drinks and the aura of being in a filthy, run-down bar,
and to top all of them off, there was the College Inn. I spent way more time at the Inn than inside
any classroom. They had the best
jukebox, the best tables, it was dark, it was smoky, and I will never forget
the graffiti on the bathroom walls.
Gary King (Simon Pegg) had 12 such bars. In June of 1990, Gary and his four best mates
celebrate graduation navigating the Golden Mile, the 12 pubs in their small
town having a drink at each. Through a very
effective opening voiceover, Gary describes that infamous night, his friends,
the girls, the booze, and the outrageousness of it all. It was the best night of Gary’s life.
Life moved on, but Gary did not. 23 years later, Gary pines for that
night. His looks are gone; he has no
money, no woman, nothing. During a group
therapy session, most likely an AA meeting, Gary realizes the fellas could try
the Golden Mile again! They never even
finished the first one anyways as they were excruciatingly drunk three pubs shy
of the goal. The problem; however, is
that his ‘mates’ have moved on. They
have jobs, mortgages, wives, kids, and most of all, responsibility; these are
all nouns Gary knows nothing about.
Plus, they are not exactly chums anymore. Oliver, ‘O-Man’ (Martin Freeman), is a real
estate agent with a Bluetooth stuck in his ear, Peter (Eddie Marsan) sells
Audis, Steven (Paddy Considine) runs a construction firm and frequently
mentions his 26-year-old fitness instructor girlfriend, and then there is Andy
(Nick Frost). Gary and Andy were the
best of friends until an event called ‘the accident’ that everyone refers to
now and then. Andy and Gary have been
estranged since the accident.
Through a series of white lies and outright subterfuge, Gary
gets the gang back to their hole in the wall town to try and recreate the past.
Unfortunately, the pubs have lost their
individuality and morphed into the same washed-out, family friendly entities
that the lads call ‘starbucking’. The
night appears doomed. Then, BAM! We get the WTF moment. I will not tell you what the WTF moment is; I
beg you to go into the movie blind. I
had no idea what The World’s End was about when I saw it and I am so grateful.
I suppose I should have guessed some skullduggery was afoot
knowing that it is from the gentlemen who brought you both Shaun of the Dead (2004)
and Hot
Fuzz (2007). Directed by Edgar
Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and co-written by Wright and Pegg,
The
World’s End concludes a sort of trilogy. Shaun of the Dead had the average
Joe versus zombies, Hot Fuzz had the Neighborhood Watch Alliance, and The
World’s End has…well, it’s got something all right.
It’s got dozens of pints to drink, long ago memories to
reminisce about or skip over, life comparisons, and a sharp wit. Pegg has more than a few biting soliloquies
and funny one-liners. Most of these are
in the first half before the WTF moment but they are so good they make up for a
fuzzy ending and a film that feels forgettable.
I’ll remember the pub crawl, but as for the rest, it has the feeling it
will just be that third Pegg/Wright movie that was better than Shaun
of the Dead but wasn’t as good as the Point Break loving Hot
Fuzz.
Directed by: Edgar Wright
Written by: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan, David Bradley, Michael Smilely
I really loved this movie and I am a teetotaler. The relationship stuff and the social satire are fine, but the dialogue and the characters are what made this so darn funny. It's hard not to know what is coming since it was in the trailers from the beginning, it might have been even better for me without that heads up.
ReplyDeleteI had the good fortune to never see the preview for this film. I love going into a movie completely blind and in this case especially, it worked out in my benefit.
ReplyDeleteJust the names were enough to get you in? That's great.
ReplyDelete