Transcending horror, 'zombie' has now become a genre of its own. We have zombie Jane Austen, zombie banks, zombie buddy comedies (Shaun of the Dead), zombie art house (28 Days Later)...and now with Zombieland we have the zombie rom-com.
The movie isn't very deep. I repeat, it's not very deep. But it actually is a pleasant romantic comedy, with likable characters, and funny asides. The lead Michael Cera-type is adorably goofy. His narration is comforting, as he guides us to his rules of survival in zombieland. We figure 'hey, if this goober can survive in zombieland, we probably could.' The opening is a little grisly, though it's a nice use of Metallica's 'For Whom the Bell Tolls.'
The first act is actually the best, as it explains the zombie rules it's pretty funny. This is good, I mean, how annoying is it to see someone whack a monster, only to stand around not making sure it's dead? Zombieland rules fix that problem. The movie has a nice anarchic tone at this point, and again, it's not very deep. It's more of the variety of 'wouldn't it look cool to see a car crash and a human fly through the window in slow motion, or watch a zombie girl get her head smacked back by the very top of a toilet tank?' Yeah, kind of. In this way it works it's date-movie demographic pretty well, addressing the fan boys before settling into it's boy meets girl story.
Woody Harrelson get's the best lines, and is fun to watch. Then we meet the two sisters, Abigail Breslin, and a bad ass Zooey Deschanel-type. The way they meet is pretty intense, but after this the tension deflates considerably and the movie becomes a more straight-forward comedy. The film is also clever as it has the characters make the most out of their situation. Don't you sometimes think, in films about post-apocalyptic worlds, that it might at times be kind of fun? These characters don't neglect that, though they are well rounded enough to miss their dead families. The movie is never a downer, though.
What else? Oh, one of my favorite actors has a cameo as himself, and the clown scene is pretty freaky.
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Sounds worth renting, a good laugh. I'll catch it at Blockbuster.
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