The sorry affair that is the Spaced remake.

This is unusual. For once, movies don't come into this. It's about cinema's little brother, television. As you may or may not be aware, there is a remake currently in the process of being made in the US. Remakes, for the most part, are bullshit. Occassionally they manage to improve on the original (John Carpenter's remake of The Thing, David Cronenberg's remake of The Fly). But for the most part, remakes are uninspired, tired rehashes of material that doesn't warrant a retelling. History has seen many attempts at remaking British television. And now the much-loved (by those of us in the UK and Ireland and a select audience in the US) Spaced is being treated to the remake treatment.

First of all, why bother? Spaced was so perfectly judged and executed that there is literally no reason to remake it. There's very little in it that US audiences couldn't latch onto. Sure, there are one or two cultural references that they might not get, but there's more than enough for them to 'get.' But aside from the film and television references that are spread throughout the show, Spaced was such a brilliant piece of work because of the spirit of the show. There's a tremendous amount of love that is put into the work and it oozes out of every scene. It's a personal piece of work and is absolutely imbued with the personalities of Simon Pegg, Jessica Hynes and Edgar Wright. It is their child, and they nurtured it into the little genius it is. Will any of this be in the remake? Hell no.



Why? Simple answer really. The powers that be have decided, in their infinite wisdom, to completely ignore Simon, Jessica and Edgar when it comes to the remake. Aside from a shameless piece of name-dropping in the press release, which went so far as to COMPLETELY IGNORE Jessica Hynes' input on the show, none of the creators have been consulted on the show. Legally, Warners aren't obliged to consult Pegg, Hynes and Wright on the show. They unfortunately signed away their rights way back in the day. However, that this has happened shows an enormous amount of disprespect for the creators. And now the show is in the hands of a 'director' known only as three letters. McG. The 'talent' behind such cinematic gold as Charlie's Angels and Charlie's Angels 2, and director of the already controversial (at least in geek-dom) new Terminator trilogy is executive producer on this remake. Were this hack to do the right thing, he'd involve the show's creators in the remake. With or without their concent, the show will go ahead. Hell, there's money to be made here, people! But if they're so insistant on dumping on the show's origins, at least have the decency to chat to the creators about it.

What I'm saying here isn't new. It's been commented on many times already. But as a fan, I just had to voice my thoughts. If what I'm saying here reaches some folks (and it's not like this place has a huge readership!) well then, I'll be chuffed. Some of you who read this may not have heard of Spaced. If you haven't, seek it out. Immediately. You already love movies, or else you wouldn't be here. And anyone who has the remotest bit of love for movies will fall for the charms of Spaced. It's essential watching. The remake is a disaster in the making. The Office worked. But it worked because Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant were involved from the very start. And when the show stopped trying to be the British Office, it became something quite good. The same will not happen with Spaced. And it's a sad state of affairs.

Simon Pegg's thoughts on the situation.

Jessica Hynes' thoughts on the situation.

HOT FUZZ (2007) - Edgar Wright

Okay, before I start, let me state that I am a huge fan of Spaced. And so should everyone who ever quoted Ash or proclaimed that George Lucas killed their childhood be. I loved Simon Pegg and Egar Wright's post-Spaced venture, Shaun of the Dead. So, I promise, with this review, I'll try and refrain from gushing like a fanboy and resorting to hyperbole.

HOT FUZZ RULES!!!! It's fantastic, hilarious, violent, exhilarating, touching... it's fried gold! Okay, okay, I'll stop. Time to get objective. In Hot Fuzz, Simon Pegg plays Nicholas Angel, the finest police officer in the London police service, with an arrest record four hundred percent above that of his coleagues. As such, he has begun to make the rest of the force look bad. So, in an effort to improve the image of the service, Angel is transferred to the sleepy countryside village of Sanford, the safest villiage in Britain. There, he finds himself out of place, itching for some action, but reduced to policing church fetes and chasing down a runaway swan. He is partnered with Danny Butterman (Pegg and Wright regular Nick Frost), the dim-witted, but well meaning son of Police Chief Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent). As the number of accidents in the villiage start mounting, Angel begins to suspect that the quiet villiage is not as quaint as the visage suggests.

When you think British comedy, the first image that springs to mind is charming fop Hugh Grant stuttering his way into the heart of some American beauty. But believe me, this film is as far removed from the Richard Curtis type film as possible. A kind of Miss Marple, Lethal Weapon hybrid, the film lays on the comedy thick and fast. To be perfectly honest, in comedy stakes, this is a one-man show. In Shaun of the Dead, Nick Frost was comedy foil to Pegg's straight man. And here, this is no different. The comedy seems to have been written for Frost and he delivers with gusto.
In terms of story, the film isn't very taxing. Story takes second seat to laughs, which is no big loss. However, the film suffers slightly with a third act where the action takes centre stage to the comedy. And while Edgar Wright's frenetic direction is excellent, the laughs aren't as frequent as the first two acts. But this is a minor complaint. The support cast is on top form and boasts a former James Bond (Timothy Dalton), Paddy Considine and Wicker Man legend, Edward Woodward.
Pegg and Wright have created yet another cult classic. And while Shaun of the Dead may be seen as the stronger film in time to come, Hot Fuzz will rightfully take it's place in the pantheon of buddy-cop movies.