The World's End

Obviously from some of my posts, I am an anglophile - translated I like British entertainment, especially the humor.  This stems from my checkered days in college where I got to watch what I wanted, instead of my parents' choices.  I discovered such wonderful things as Masterpiece Theatre and my personal favorite, Monty Python's Flying Circus.  I was warped for life!

I watch Monty Python whenever I get the chance, as well as Keeping Up Appearances - the saga of Hyacinth Bucket (no, it's Bouquet!!!)  These shows make me laugh, always a good thing.

Though I came late to the party, I've discovered the writing team of Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.  They have given us such irreverent films as Paul, Hot Fuzz, and my personal favorite - Shaun of the Dead.  What hoots these films are!

And, of course, the fact that Simon Pegg plays Montgomery Scott in the Abrams Star Trek franchise delights me as well. He makes a wonderful Scotty.

I recently watched The World's End, which is the latest collaboration from this talented team.  Like all of their films, there are some surprises in this one.  Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play friends since childhood.  Nick Frost usually plays the more outlandish of the pair with Simon Pegg the more conventional one.  Those roles are reversed in The World's End.  Simon Pegg makes a surprisingly good slacker/bad boy who never grew up.  Nick Frost makes a surprisingly good conservative business man who doesn't even want to see his old friend in the beginning.

This one is the story of a group of friends who, at Pegg's insistence, recreate their historic pub crawl in their home town for one last chance to finish it.  You see there are eleven pubs (public houses - bars) in the small town from whence they came.  When they were graduating from school, they tried to make all of them in one night, but they failed.  They never made it to the last pub on the list - The World's End.

One by one the friends are coerced from their conventional adult lives to join Pegg's character on one last fling.  Do they make it?  I'm not telling.

I will say they encounter some adventures on the way.  It is a life changing experience for them all, some more so than others.

There is a quirky take on the term "blue blood" which feels like a slam at British aristocracy, in the most comic way possible.

The climax is a big surprise.  The last pub is aptly named.

This is howlingly funny in places.  I guffawed while watching it.  There are a few serious bits, but that balances out the story.

The World's End is now out on video and pay-per-view for cable subscribers.  In my opinion it is much funnier than the recent comic version of the apocalypse.

If you haven't seen their other films and like to laugh, you should rent them.  Hot Fuzz is the story of a small town police force and the London officer who is transferred into their midst.  It has some hysterical moments....Yarp!  The straight-laced London officer gets corrupted by action films and becomes a super cop.

Paul is a must see for any Sci-Fi fan.  It's about two fans who go to World Con and meet a real alien, who is a trash-talking cigarette smoking little guy (with the voice of Seth Rogan.)  Look for Signourey Weaver in an offbeat role for her.  Great cast in this one.

Finally, if you haven't seen Shaun of the Dead, you're missing a treasure.  Of course there are zombies (don't say the Zed word!) galore.  There is some gore but trust me, it is funny.  As I mentioned, it's my favorite piece of all of these good films.  You won't catch everything in one watching.

Enjoy these wonderful films.  You'll have a great time and lots of laughs.

Oh by the way, we wave goodbye to the 2013 hurricane season today!  Yeaaaaaaaaayyy!  That's important to people in Florida.

Until next time...