Ever heard of Monty Python? Peter Sellers? The Goons and all the rest of those surreal, hyperliterate tv comedies the UK was pumping out since the 50s? Heck, what about Lewis Carroll? The Office?

I haven't seen Hot Fuzz yet, but I did quite like Shaun of the Dead. I know Pegg and the other guy's stuff is different than the stuff I mention above, but I bet they have been influenced by some of it. The point is, I never thought smarts and silliness were mutually exclusive. It's not exclusively British, either. Although off the top of my head I can't think of much American smart/silly stuff besides Firesign Theater, and to me they were always more amusing than laugh out loud funny. The Brits do seem to have a knack for this type of comedy, though. Must have something to do with the bad teeth and penchant for cross-dressing. That's a joke people.

It's so nice to see a great US review for a UK comedy. And know that there ARE Americans who get their bizarre sense of humour.

I don't watch many films these days but I'll watch this one. I glimpsed a short trailer on British TV (with the sound off) that made me laugh out loud. Not often that happens.

(It was the bit where Simon Pegg is chasing somebody through a series of gardens - effortlessly vaulting fences as he goes. And then Nick Frost tries it... )

He told a story about an incident with his family.By the end we were howling. His dry delivery and Letterman's 'on the spot' wit were a great combo.

'Fuzz' will be another movie to recommend to my brother.

It's only because I have a Brit colleague that I know why this is funny, and even then it took awhile. Very sneaky! Er, cheeky!

O.K., I admit, I'm a dummy. Would someone please explain the joke behind "P.I. Staker"?

P.I. Staker = Piss Taker. I guess the US version would be I. P. Daly.

As a US-ian and lover of British comedy, my best guess was that it could be interpreted as "piss-taker". And from what I can gather from my viewing of other comedies, "taking a piss" means something like making a joke (usually at a single person's expense).

If I'm wrong, someone please set me straight.

"Taking the piss" is like making fun of someone. It's saying you're just teasing them. "Taking the mickey" means the same, but it's more for polite company.

I saw this film a couple of months ago. It is well worth seeing.

How is it though often when I read one of Stephanie's reviews after first seeing the film I am always left with the impression that her review leaves some important things out?

For example, the piece from Point Break. It seems odd to remark on Danny's conversation about "Have you ever fired a gun in the air and gone, 'Yah! Yah! Yah!" while ignoring how that exact scene from Point Break is replicated later in Hot Fuzz.

Why would she not mention the way the director has similarly replicated scenes from a number of other cop movies, the swirling camera shot and the shot of the helicopter passing overhead from Bad Boys are two in particular I spotted?

These reference are an important part of what makes Hot Fuzz so enjoyable and surely a review that doesn't mention them is an some small way flawed.

And yes, the nods to Bruckheimer-style crimetrash are important, but Pegg and Wright don't want their allusions lost on people who aren't such voracious consumers of that genre. And that generosity in the exposition is one of the things I loved about it.

Uhhhh, so she doesn't get idiot letters berating her for spoilers from the people who haven't figured out that if you don't want spoilers YOU SHOULDN'T READ THE FRICKIN' REVIEW!

Tune in next week for the next installment of "Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't" in which Salon readers find new ways to complain about critics.