Blood and Ice Cream
The Cornetto Trilogy
By Rhomega
Today, I want to talk about one of my favorite trilogies, and this one comes from across the pond. Also known as The Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy and The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy, the name comes from a British brand of ice cream, sold as cones (like you see with Klondike and Drumstick here in the States), both in singles and in boxes. So what's so special about Cornetto? Well, director Edgar Wright used it as a hangover cure, and is featured as such in Shaun of the Dead. The trilogy itself isn't a story or character trilogy like you would see with Star Wars or Back to the Future. So, they can be watched in any order, or you could just skip one or two. There are some underlying traits though:
1. They are comedies directed by Edgar Wright, produced by Working Title and distributed by Universal (great if you have Movies Anywhere).
2. They star Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
3. Cornetto ice cream is featured somewhere in the movie.
4. There's a scene where a character tries to jump a fence and ends up knocking it over.
I also have to hand it to Pegg and Frost for their acting in these movies. Nicholas Angel isn't Shaun, and neither is Gary King. Andy Knightly is the complete opposite of Ed and Danny, who are both goofballs, but for different reasons.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
"You've got red on you"
Shaun (Pegg) is a man stuck in his comfort zone. He also sticks up for his troublesome loser friend Ed (Frost). After his frustrated girlfriend breaks up with him, Shaun and Ed get drunk at their favorite pub, the Winchester. While trying to cure their hangover with Cornetto, they find that they're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse that had previously been starting up in the background. Now Shaun needs to rescue his mum and stepdad, his ex-girlfriend Liz, head down to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for this whole thing to blow over.
Inspired by an episode of Spaced, also directed by Wright and starring Pegg, this "rom-zom-com" is special because the British aren't armed to the teeth like Americans, so what do you use to bash a zombie's brains in? The film focused more on the Shaun's relationships and the zombies are a vehicle for that. Shaun and his stepdad practically hate each other, he's trying to save Liz in order to try and win her back, and her flatmates (who also don't like Shaun) are along for the ride. It also features the rapid-fire shots that would be more prominent in Hot Fuzz. Like the title suggests, it's a great homage to George Romero's Living Dead trilogy, and is a more modern horror classic.
Hot Fuzz (2008)
""Have you ever fired two guns whilst jumping through the air?"
London Met police officer Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is absolutely great at his job. So great in fact, he's making the rest of the service look bad, so they're shipping him off to the fictional country village of Sandford in the real county of Gloucestershire. Sandford has repeatedly won Village of the Year, and seems to have no crime, but everyone in town seems to brush it off. When murders start happening, Angel wants to investigate, but everyone just sees them as accidents. He's also paired up with Danny Butterman (Frost), who is the son of the police inspector, and a fan of buddy cop films like Point Break and Bad Boys II Also, Timothy Dalton plays Simon Skinner, the store manager at the local grocery store.
Hot Fuzz is considered to be the best in the trilogy, and is an excellent showcase of set-ups and payoffs, which encourages repeat viewings. It's also recognized by actual police for pointing out the paperwork that goes into arresting people. As mentioned, the rapid-fire shots go great when introducing Angel, his trip to Sandford, and others. Sgt. Angel also showcases his willingness to be politically correct, using "collision" instead of "accident" while investigating a car crash, and even leads to the joke "Why'd you decide to become a policeman officer?" Also, there's a swan in the movie. There are a few disturbing graphically violent scenes in this movie, but if you think you can handle that, then give this one a watch. It's for the greater good!
Wright and Pegg put in more Cornetto after the team got free ice cream after Shaun of the Dead wrapped up, and hoped to get more (it didn't work), which is why there's a trilogy in the first place.
The World's End (2013)
"I thought we were home."
On their last day of school, friends Gary King (Pegg), Andy (Frost), Peter, Steven, and Oliver go on a 12-stop pub crawl called The Golden Mile (remember, the drinking age is 18 in the UK), which they ultimately fail at. Now 40 years old, Gary wants to get the boys back together and try it again. However, it's clear that Gary hasn't changed a bit since his fun-loving teenager years, while his friends have grown up, moved away, and gotten married. Even Andy gave up drinking after a nasty car collision, but he very reluctantly decides to go anyway. The town has changed a bit, and no one reacts to Gary and his friends walking the streets again. Also, there's a major event in the fourth pub, and I recommend going in blind on that. Also, Pierce Brosnan plays Mr. Shepard, Gary's old teacher.
People tend to rank this last in their ranking of the Cornetto trilogy, but I love this movie. It's a movie about a man who refuses to grow up (compare to Shaun, who has grown up, but doesn't know where to go from there), but it's also about trying to recapture youth long gone. It's about how you can never go home again, and how corporations change small businesses into lookalike businesses. Also, there's plenty of beer, and other things I don't want to spoil.
