You're gonna love "Zombieland". And if you don't, we have nothing to talk about.
Fans of zombies, comedy, and combining the two together like some sort of hellish peanut butter and chocolate "zombedy" are going to be thrilled with "Zombieland", one of the year's funniest comedies. Here, the Comedy Examiner provides his review. Read on, gentle Examiner readers...
Let's get this out of the way: "Zombieland" is no "Shaun of The Dead".
If you're a fan of that movie, you don't have to worry about your favorite "Zombedy" being replaced with this new movie. It's not that "Zombieland" isn't good-- it's great-- it's just that they're two different movies, and if you had to judge them simply on how successful they are at equally combining the two elements, you'd stick with "Shaun of The Dead" for best Zombedy. Here's the trailer, in case you haven't seen it playing all over TV:
By the way, I just invented that word-- "Zombedy"-- and I want credit if it catches on. I swear to God, if Roger Ebert starts using that term in future movie reviews, I'm gonna be p-ssed. Or if Gene Siskel comes back as a zombie and starts reviewing movies again. That's my word. Anyway, back to the review.
The film stars Woody Harrelson and Jessie Eisenberg as two mismatched survivors of a zombie apocalypse. Tallahassee and Columbus (respectively) get tossed together and decide they do better as a team than on their own ( though Eisenberg's "rules" for staying alive while by oneself in the wake of a zombie apocalypse are some of the film's highlights, he's kind of a wimp and Harrelson's character comes along at just the right time to form an unlikely team). Soon after, their defenses are breached, not by a group of zombies or one clever zombie, but by Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, two females that are also figuring out how to survive the new world they're all living in.
I was surprised by alot of the set pieces in the film, stuff that I didn't know was in the movie (there's a jaw-dropping cameo that, if someone ruins it for you, they need to be beaten mercilessly; this was easily my favorite part of "Zombieland", especially because of who this person was and then even more especially because of how they had him/her appear), so I guess some congratulations are in order to the studio for not ruining every last moment in the film during the trailer.
This includes action beats and laughs, of which there are many of both. If you come looking for more action than comedy, though, you'll be disappointed: "Zombieland" is, first and foremost, a comedy. The filmmakers originally plotted out this story as the pilot episode for a TV series, and that's fairly apparent from the way it unfolds. It's at once a shame and a blessing that no one picked this up for their network, however. A shame because it woulda been an amazing series, one that coulda run a very long time if it had the sort of quality behind it that this film does.
But it's also a blessing, because if, say, ABC had picked up "Zombieland" as a series, we wouldn't have this awesome movie, with all the gore intact and "scary" moments in place if the film had been airing at, say, 7pm on a Tuesday before "Two and A Half Men". In other words, let's just be happy that we get "Zombieland" at all, and then let's be happy that it's as good as it is.
"Zombieland" is a film I can't recommend enough. If you like comedy, zombies, Woody Harrelson, headshots, amusement parks, a bit of gore, and some gonzo set pieces (the roller coaster kill is insane), then this is the movie you need to be seeing this weekend. It'll be a "must-buy" when it comes out on BluRay, too. "Zombieland" is one of the year's best, definitely worth the ticket price, and you'll leave the theater with a goofy grin plastered across your face.
And isn't that why we go to the movies?
My Grade? A big, solid, bloody "A".
And, hey, check out some of the Comedy Examiner's other recent articles, handily listed in the top right-hand corner of this page. We have reports on David Letterman's blackmail shenanigans, a poll asking whether or not Dave's a sleazebag, Conan O'Brien being banned from Jersey, a report about "The Jay Leno Show" being boycotted, reviews of last night's episodes of "The Office" and "Parks and Rec", and another poll about Jon Gosselin's recent appearance on "Larry King Live", proof that The Rock is a "Fairy", as well as some other timely stuff. Click any of those links to go straight to the articles!
(photo: eonline.com)
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