Released: October 2nd,
2009
Rated: R
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma
Stone, Abigail Breslin
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Personal Bias Alert: likes zombies, likes big set pieces
8.3 of 10
Historians
will certainly mark this time as a period of the zombies. Okay, that’s probably a bit drastic, but they
certainly have become entrenched in pop culture. Our TV shows, movies, and books drip with
gore and entrails, spawning multiple think-pieces about why we’ve latched onto
zombies with such fervor and stamina.
But who cares about reading those when you can watch a movie as fun as Zombieland?
Jesse
Eisenberg narrates and stars as Columbus, an awkward, nervous fellow whose
ticks have morphed into a set of rules that keep him alive through the raging zombie
apocalypse. His philosophy and the
downfall of the civilized world is shown in a nearly flawless opening. It’s gory, irreverently funny, and always
entertaining, doing much of the heavy lifting in such a way that it never feels
like a chore. Not to play this up too
much, but I think Zombieland’s
opening should be studied for years to come as a blueprint for getting through
your exposition with style.
Eventually,
Columbus meets up with the formidable Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), whose
verve for dispatching zombies is both concerning and undeniably cool. The sister duo of con artists named Wichita
(Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) round out the gang, making for a
charming bunch that works incredibly well together. That’s the biggest plus for this movie, since
much of the jokes come from their near-constant bickering and bantering. Your enjoyment of the movie really hinges on
whether you like these people together, and I would’ve happily jumped into that
car with them.
Wichita,
it turns out, is determined to give her little sister one more day of being a kid
at an amusement park called Pacific Playland, prompting the cross-country
roadtrip that gives the movie some structure.
It’s a weak goal, something even the characters acknowledge, but it’s a
decent excuse to move from one set piece to another. And oh, what grand set pieces there are. As great as the comedy is in Zombieland, it’s just as worth watching
for its big, playful use of its environment.
Tallahassee and others get creative with the zombie dispatching while
chasing the Zombie Kill of the Week title, keeping the action fresh and
exciting as they move from place to place.
Then, out of nowhere, you get a raucously joyful sequence of destruction
that’s cathartic just to watch.
The weak overarching
narrative does make the movie feel a bit episodic, but it still manages to zip
right through its brief runtime. There
isn’t an ounce of excess on this thing, throwing action and jokes at you so
fast that it’s no wonder it’s become a go-to crowd pleaser since its
release. I’ve never once had someone
turn down the opportunity to watch this movie, and I find that the larger the
group viewing it, the better it seems.
The laughs role on top of each other and give everyone a litany of
quotes and references to pull out in everyday life, keeping this movie at the
forefront of your friend’s pop culture playbook.
All
this being said, I’m not blind to the movie’s faults. The quick pace is helped out by a stack of
plot shortcuts and coincidences, and as great as some of the technical work is,
particularly the interactive display of Columbus’s rules, there’s some awful
voiceover mixing that sounds very tacked on.
Even
when I’m paying attention to these faults, I still have a great time watching Zombieland. It gets all the important things right,
making it an infinitely watchable, and quotable, piece of pop culture.
Other Notes:
Ø In
case you were wondering, someone on IMDB confirmed that Twinkies are called
Submarinos in Mexico.
Ø “If
the girls in your neighborhood are f***ed up little monsters, well, maybe it’s
time to stop driving carpool.”
Ø Let’s
take a moment to reflect on how charming Emma Stone is.
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