Edgar Wright names his favourite comedy of the past decade
A beloved icon in contemporary cinema, the films of British director Edgar Wright have helped to shape the pace of modern comedy, with his idiosyncratic style becoming iconic in the landscape of blockbuster movies. Working with such actors as Matt Smith, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza and Brie Larson, Wright has achieved significant acclaim in the industry, both critically and commercially.
Creating crowd-pleasing comedies that are suffused with cinematic confidence, Wright sprang to prominence in 2004 with the release of the zombie comedy Shaun of the Dead, which he followed up with the cop-crime-caper Hot Fuzz three years later, officially consolidating himself as a mainstay of contemporary British cinema. The comic-book adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World followed in 2010, which introduced the director to a new American audience.
A significant purveyor of cinema, Wright regularly appears in conversations with such fellow filmmakers as Martin Scorsese, Judd Apatow and Christopher Nolan, where he discusses the influence of certain filmmakers and musicians on his impressive cinematic achievements. Most recently, Wright took on the documentary The Sparks Brothers, where he dissected the appeal of the titular musical experimenters.
Trickling his own strain of comedy into the documentary, it is rare that Wright can create a project that is totally devoid of comedy, with even his 2021 horror Last Night in Soho being dotted with several moments of smart humour.
For such a celebrated filmmaker, Wright’s opinion on the landscape of modern comedy is highly respected, with the director recently taking to Twitter to discuss his love of Nathan Fielder’s new HBO series The Rehearsal. In his appreciation post, Wright stated, “Loved Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal. Even though Nathan For You is my favourite comedy of the last decade, this endless Russian doll of a show still surprised me, it’s emotional and howlingly funny in ways I could never predict. No idea how they made it and happy not to know!”.
In his endless passion for Fielder’s The Rehearsal, Wright revealed that his favourite comedy of the last decade is the comedian’s previous series, Nathan For You, a mockumentary of sorts that follows a businessman who tries to help struggling entrepreneurs across America. Surreal and absurd, the celebrated show sees Fielder (who plays a peculiar version of himself) suggest curious improvements for businesses, including such inventions as ‘poo flavoured yoghurt’ and the creation of a Starbucks rival named ‘Dumb Starbucks’.
It’s no surprise that Wright is such a fan of Fielder’s comedy, with everything from the British director’s TV series Spaced to his 2013 film The World’s End showing off a similar embrace of surrealism.
