So I took the Contract Documents exam (one of 9 Architectural Registration Exams) on Friday: 115 multiple choice questions in 3 hours. It was disheartening and frustrating but I’ll get to why in a future post. Point is that by Friday night I was in the mood for renting a light-hearted, silly DVD to put the mind in neutral and maybe get a few cheap laughs. The selection was ‘Hot Fuzz’, which from what I gathered from the trailers that ran a number of months ago, was about the hijinks of a tight-ass efficient supercop and his not-so-efficient partner in a quaint English Village that for some reason had a disproportionately high level of violent crime, perpetrated by all kinds of unlikelies such as the farmer Granny with a shotgun. I have to admit that the trailer clip of her getting a leaping double-footed kick in the face triggered my curiosity. Just so silly.

But you see, the silliness is heavily diluted by the movie’s attempts at wrapping the silliness around a story. It’s as if the filmmakers felt there had to be an explanation for all the crime. And to get there required cutting in to time that could have otherwise been devoted to more action and fun content. I don’t need a story. I don’t need an explanation. I’ve already rented the DVD; I’ve already bought in to the premise – I’ve accepted it whether it makes sense or not. You don’t have to spell it out or build a bridge from silly across the river to semi-reality/plausibility. Just let it go: cut the fluff and get to the fun.

I have exactly the same comment with the ‘40 Year Old Virgin’. Funny movie. In parts. But to me the entire movie could be a series of bits such as the “You know how I know you’re gay” thing or the exchanges between the sales guys especially Mooj’s gems (e.g. “It’s not about the rusty trombone or the Dirty Sanchez.” or “You will receive NONE of the commission.”). Imagine how much funnier it could have been without the filler scenes with the story/drama of the single mom/grandmother (grandmother?! Are you kidding? Like c’mon, you’re losing me fast here) and well, I guess the whole love interest thing. Kind of like how I’d prefer fireworks if they blew them all out in 3 minutes rather than spreading it out over half an hour. No need for filler.

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