As finals swarm around me and things are getting a little tense, I have spent the last few weeks circling one of my favorite film trilogies in cinematic history: The Cornetto Trilogy. For those unfamiliar with this masterpiece of British Comedy, The Cornetto Trilogy is the three film collaboration between Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright's , namely Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World's End (2013). Although the films were not written or produced as direct sequels of one another, they share several running gags between the three that make all three films absolute classics worth eternal fandom. Some of the best gags from the series follow below:
1. What a Cast
Aside from Pegg and Frost spear heading each of the films, along with Wright as their fearless director, the casts between the Cornetto films are often similar. Pegg and Frost, best mates in real life, found a great group of actors when they began working together on the Channel 4 comedy series SPACED and have continued using that cast since. Jessica Stevenson, Julia Deakin, Peter Serafinowicz, along with fellow comedy legends Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan, and Michael Smiley have all made appearances in at least one of the Cornetto films, bringing smiles to the faces of fans who remember them from the early days of their work with Pegg, Frost and Wright.
2. Playful Teasing and Running Gags
One of the best features of these films is that they poke fun at some of the most popular genres of film. Avid fans of Zombie Horror, Shaun of the Dead was inspired by the classic Dawn of the Dead, a film that Wright and Pegg both cite as a huge creative influence. Hot Fuzz stems from the trios love of "Buddy Cop" films and The World's End comes from a love of "Robot Alien Fueled Apocalypse" type films. The Cornetto Trilogy does a great job of mocking some of the absurdities that come with these film genres while still showing an avid appreciation for them as well. The Trilogy also has a collection of running gags between them that fans always look forward to.This includes my absolute favorite running film gag of all time: jumping fences. The short explanation is that in each film, there is a moment when the characters must jump over a series of fences. The compilation can be viewed below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21dn0YzPLwQ
3. Brilliant Foreshadowing
Ever the fans of delicate details, Wright, Frost, and Pegg work hard to include minute details that later reveal themselves to be important plot explanations. For examples, Ed's Speech to Shaun at the beginning of Shaun of the Dead reveals the entire plot and the list of pubs included in the Golden Mile from The World's End explains the event that follow over the course of the film. The small details provide an amazing structure to film while cleverly outlining their entire stories before they even happen.
4. Cameos, cameos, and more cameos.
Over the years, Frost, Pegg, and Wright have doubtless made countless friends in the film industry. Throughout the Cornetto Trilogy, they have convinced those friends to pop up in their stories, including Bill Nighly, Martin Freeman, Matt Lucas, Steve Coogan, Cate Blanchett, Pierce Brosnan, and Peter Jackson as a crazy Father Christmas.
5. "Do you want anything from the shop?"
Of course, the crowning jewel of all three movies in their subtle reference to the adorable ice cream dessert Cornetto. The frozen dessert has more symbolism than realized, as the colors of each flavor represent certain details of each respective film. Red in Shaun of the Dead for the zombie blood, blue in Hot Fuzz to represent the police force, and green in The World's End to represent aliens. Not to mention, the presence of Cornetto in each film allows for the delivery of the classic line, "Do you want anything from the shop?"
So, if your stressed during finals and want some amazing comic relief, do yourself a favor and watch one (and by one I mean all) of the Cornetto Trilogy films.
