‘There is no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in pie’: It’s been 21 years with this Edgar Wright classic
There are a lot of moments in my life that I can attribute to my love of movies. But the first time I saw Shaun of the Dead, I knew that this was for “me.”
Growing up as the baby of a family, most everything else that I love was because someone showed it to me. My older brother taught me all about Harrison Ford’s movies, my taste in music was that of my father’s, and my oldest brother and mother helped aid my shopping addiction. But watching movies like Shaun of the Dead became my thing.
The Edgar Wright film was released in theaters on April 9 in the UK of 2004. So I would not see it until its September release date but still, today is a special day. Do you have those movies that live in your head rent free? Because that’s me with Shaun of the Dead. Remember when Shaun (Simon Pegg) and Ed (Nick Frost) were singing with a zombie in the middle of the street? I think about that at least once a week.
But this movie is all about being in your 30s and not really knowing what you’re doing but finding the will to survive and be the hero your friends and family need. Shaun is in a dead-end job, his relationship fell apart, and all he does is go home and sit on his couch with his best friends. It is still, somehow, timely and relatable 21 years later but now, as a 30-something, I really love the message of Shaun of the Dead.
You don’t have to have your life sorted
Shaun and Ed are two friends who don’t have a lot going on in their lives. But when it all comes down to them in the zombie apocalypse, they step up and protect those closest to them. It is oddly inspirational in a lot of ways. You work non-stop, barely make it by, feel like your life is an endless loop of nothingness but when you need to step up and be a hero, you can be.
I’d also be really particular about which vinyls I would use as weapons against the living dead. But what I do love about this movie is that it, in its own way, reminds us all that anyone can be a hero. Even the guy who works at TV store who drinks at the pub with his friends every single night.
It kicked off Wright’s collaboration with Pegg and Frost on the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. But I just have always had a soft spot for Shaun of the Dead. It was my introduction to the zombie genre as a young 12 year old kid and I have since found love in Wright’s work thanks to this movie.
So on this, the 21st birthday of Shaun of the Dead, may we all remember to be there for our friends, know that we can fight the zombies if we have to, and we should probably go to the pub together all for Shaun and his friends.
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