11) Gary King (The Wold’s End)
Starting off in more recent times, 2013’s The Wold’s End concluded Edgar Wright’s beloved Cornetto trilogy with a fantastic buddy comedy about reclaiming your youth, reuniting with old friends, and putting the past behind you – while drinking your face off. Pegg, who typically plays the straight man opposite Nick Frost’s usual goofball persona, gets to play proud drunk Gary King, a boisterous, inappropriate, and sometimes dangerous party lover who just wants one more epic night out with his best buddies, a bar crawl, and limitless fun.
While Gary appears jovial and witty initially, deeper, darker feelings present themselves, bringing unlimited depth to Pegg’s performance. Hitting entirely too close to home for some, Gary’s soul is a tragic one, refusing to let the glory years of old die completely in a corporate world full of bluetooth headsets, families, responsibilities, and other such boredom.
[zergpaid]Everyone knows those few townies who frequent the same local bars every week, talking about that one night in high school they’ll never forget – only because life maybe hasn’t treated them as fruitfully as some of their more successful friends. People grow up, mature, lose touch, and begin new chapters of life, something Gary couldn’t handle. Alcohol was an escape for this sad, masked man, and an epic pub crawl was a last-ditch effort to re-live one more night of riotous, inconsequential fun like teenage hooligans.
Don’t get me wrong, The World’s End is an undeniable hoot, but Gary King’s alcoholic tendencies are a cry for help, and a memorable one at that because of the inherent dangers those cries bring. Then again, Pegg is a comedic genius, so while you’ll acknowledge King’s flaws, you’ll be absolutely in stitches and covered in blue goo.
