Shaun of the Dead (2004): Review

I am very excited for The World's End movie to come out this weekend so to gear up for it I have decided to re-watch the first two parts of the Cornetto Trilogy. The Cornetto Trilogy are three films written by Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, Directed by Simon Pegg, and staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.  The first installment of this trilogy is 2004 Shaun of the Dead, which represents the Strawberry Cornetto.  The strawberry represents the blood and the red that is referenced throughout the movie.
For those of you who do not know what Cornettos are, they are pre-packaged ice cream cone desserts which originated in the United Kingdom (for my fellow American's they are similar to the drumstick ice cream cone). 
Thus far Shaun of the Dead is my favorite of the Cornetto movies but I am very excited to see The World's End and I usually prefer alien movies over Zombie movies.  That being said, I think everyone should see Shaun of the Dead because it is a fun and shows the fabulousness that is Simon Pegg.
Shaun of the Dead is about Shaun, played by Simon Pegg, who's best friend but general screw up Ed, played by Nick Frost.  Shaun works as sales associate for a electronic company, is in a relationship with Liz, played by Kate Ashfield, and who ends most days at the local pub, The Winchester.  Shaun is in a rut but has to pull it together in order to stay alive and try to save his mother and friends from a Zombie infestation.  As Shaun is going about his day, he eventually discovers that there are Zombies about and that they are trying to kill people. He decides that he needs to go and get his mother, his girlfriend and go bunker down at the Winchester, with Ed along from the ride, to try and wait out this Zombie thing.  Along the way there is a long of nonsense and fun that occurs.
This movie is a British comedy first and foremost and has the general British humor throughout.  If you like Simon Pegg, which I do, this is a must see movie as it really was the big launching point for his success today. As with all the Cornetto movies, it puts the main characters, specifically Pegg and Frost in ridiculous situations (aliens, conspiracies, zombies) and watching them in their daftness and OTTness as they have to deal with these situations and come to some type of conclusions.
Yes this movie is quite stupid, yes there are some juvenile jokes, yes there is some vulgar language, and yes it contains a lot of British humor, but for me it combines all of this in a way that is a lot of fun and that I enjoy watching.
It has been a few years since I watched this movie, and upon re-watching I noticed some of the supporting cast.  There is a moment where you see Martin Freeman who plays a bigger role in The World's End and other British actors who mirror Shaun and his troupe.
Like I said I really enjoy this movie and would recommend it to be seen just for the cultural significant and fun. For those of you who don't like British humor it probably is not for you.  It might also take some concentration for those of you who are less familiar or less used to listening to British accents as it can be difficult to understand at times.  I have been told by people that at times these accents can be hard to understand.

My Rating: 3

My Nostalgia Rating: This film has a lot of nostalgia for me as it came out during the time that I lived in London and I loved it.  I really like the British humor and was aware of the references and cameos of a lot of people in it.  Watching it back now, they look familiar but I cannot identify all of their names like I could have back then.  Also I like the warm fuzzies that the pub atmosphere was and getting together with your mates for a drink.

My Hold Up Rating: As this movie was released in 2004 it has been about a decade and there is some obvious older technologies.  Mainly within the electronic store that Shaun works in, the fact that everyone does not have a mobile phone, that there is still an actually answering machine on the land line, and that Ed has a filp phone.  At this point it wasn't that big of a deal but still slightly noticeable.