A Fistful of Fingers

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I've always been a pretty hardcore fan of Edgar Wright, but I had gone this whole time without checking out his completely hidden, underground, humble beginnings. In '93, he did a home movie he called 'Dead Right', which is still something I need to check out. But his first feature film, that might mean a little more to the UK than the US. The North American version of this is, pretty much, Trey Parker's 'Cannibal! The Musical', which predates this by a couple of years. Two completely different stories, but certain elements were a little too close.

'A Fistful of Fingers' is a straight up 'Naked Gun'-like farce on Spaghetti Westerns. But I'd like to give people fair warning that some of this stuff might be a little sensitive - not the least of which is Martin Curtis portrayal of Indian stereotype, "Running Sore". But with that said, again, this is satire. It kinda points and laughs, not at the Native people, but what spaghetti westerns see Native people like. As long as you can see this for what it's trying to do, you should be able to see some of Wright's clever writing techniques that he still applies to his films today. He does enjoy that fine line.

The story follows cowboy Walter Marshall (Graham Low), a cowboy whose horse, Easy, was killed (hilariously) by wanted criminal, The Squint (Oli van der Vijver). Essentially, it's a revenge comedy in the spirit of something like 'Looney Tunes', with its snappy writing, and cartoonish sight gags. It's definitely a solid, early start for the guy, but even an Edgar Wright nerd like myself can see a few faults here and there.

The biggest, glaring thing to me is that there's actually so much here that feels like it actually takes from 'Cannibal'. I can't very well accuse Wright of this, since at this point, Trey Parker wasn't really even a name yet. But it's remarkable how many things here will remind you of 'Cannibal', if you've ever had the pleasure of seeing it. But perhaps it's just that great minds think alike, and it's all a crazy coincidence. The point is, I've seen a lot of the gags in this done in 'Cannibal' before, right down to having an intimate relationship with a horse (don't worry, it's more lovey-dovey cheesy than gross and revealing).

Further flaws in this are pretty simply explained away as it being his first, full-length feature. He had to work with what he had to work with, and even then, this is quite a bit of fun. It feels like something that was filmed in his own back yard or something, but I can't deny that it gave me some genuine chuckles, and it did nothing to ruin the good name of Wright for me. If you're a fan of his work, and can understand that this is more of a spaghetti western satire than something trying to be racey, you can still have a great time with this. Wright has since graduated to write and direct a few titles I hold close to my heart, so this is an easy slide for me. It's fun, but his better movies are the ones you already know of.

​3/5 

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