As great as Shaun of the Dead was, I’ve often felt like it was a spit in the face of true zombie fans. Add to that the oodles of generic and shitty zombie comedies that came out after it and because of it, and you can see why I have a love/hate relationship with the movie. For these reasons, I was a little reticent to jump on the Zombieland bandwagon. While the film turned out a whole lot better than I thought it would, it still can’t compare to the kick ass zombieness of most traditional zombie flicks, or even the lighthearted, somewhat insulting, take on zombies that was seen in Shaun of the Dead. Still, this zombie comedy is lightyears ahead of most other films within the genre.

The film does a solid job of detailing the outbreak of a plague… and then glossing over it and heading directly to a shattered and ruined America, which our fearless awktard main character dubs Zombieland. This akwtard, being somewhat anal and a little bit OCD, decides that he’s going to head across the country and see what became of his parents in Columbus, Ohio. He pairs up with a zombicidal maniac who has a lust for Twinkies and the two share many adventures… for thirty minutes. Then some chicks show up and the whole “fun in a zombie wasteland” schtick is replaced by thirty minutes of an awktard trying to get into some average chick’s pants. Then the last twenty minutes or so of the film becomes a mediocre “awktard saves the day” moment where he must save his chick… all for the hope of some pussy. In reality, the film plays out like three different movies. The first half which is a ten, the middle part which is a two, and the final part which is a six.

Director Ruben Fleischer has openly admitted that he was inspired to make this film because of Shaun of the Dead. You can see the influence in the quick editing, never too gory feel of the movie. Fleischer’s flick is an up and down affair, and when he’s on, such as with the beginning of the film, he handles the craft of a zombie movie with a flair that makes the viewer hungry for more. Then the fucking thing turns into a goddamn post-apocalyptic romantic comedy, starring a dude that couldn’t get laid in real life and the film turns to shit. Fleischer’s handling of the characters and their emotional arcs is hamfisted at best, and it brings the film down. There you are having fun watching the awktard and Woody Harrelson’s character riff off of each other, when all of the sudden everything comes to a screeching halt, because some virgin douche can’t stop thinking about getting laid. This story might play well with angst-riddled teenagers, but for regular people it’s quite annoying. I went to a zombie movie and came out of a mediocre romantic comedy.

The cast of the movie is hit or miss. Woody Harrelson is the true star of the movie as Tallahassee, the Twinkie-loving mad man. Harrelson’s character is worth the price of the movie all by itself. Jesse Eisenberg, the poor man’s Michael Cera, is definitely more interesting in this film than he was in his previous film, Adventureland. While Eisenberg is still riding the awktard train and plays his character as if he might not be competent enough to figure out which hand to wipe with, it does work in the context of the movie… and the only reason his character would ever get laid in this movie is because all the other dudes are dead. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are unwelcome additions to the cast, and all they do is serve to annoy.

On the bright side of things, Zombieland might be the best looking zombie movie since 2004’s Dawn of the Dead. The film is colorful, bright, and loaded with awesome zombie effects. The zombies are cool, a shitload of them are killed, but no actual humans are killed on screen, which is something of a bummer. I would have actually liked to have seen a few of these characters get eaten.

Zombieland may not be Shaun of the Dead, but it’s the closest thing since that movie came out. It’s uneven-ness and stock romantic comedy bullshit keep it from being one of the greats of the zombie genre, but if they were trying to be great, they wouldn’t have made it a comedy in the first place. The whole awktard thing is entirely played out, and I’m tired of seeing these characters. Hopefully, this trend will fade from movies faster than the whole “every horror movie has to have an emo character in it” thing did.

Final Synopsis: The first thirty minutes are perfect, after that, Zombieland is hit or miss. Give it a watch, but be prepared for some pretty annoying switches in tone and plot. It’s more for fans of Shaun of the Dead than actual fans of legitimate zombie movies.

Points Lost: -1 for too many shifts in tone, -1 for the annoying romantic angle, -1 for the idea that two people can ride an amusement park ride and operate it at the same time, -1 for awktardness

Bonus Points: +1 for Woody Harrelson’s character and his quest for Twinkies.

Lesson Learned: Going to an amusement park in the middle of a zombie apocalypse might be the dumbest thing in the world to do.

Burning Question: What comforting snack item would you go out of your way for in an apocalyptic zombieland?

Zombieland
7/10

Zombieland (2009) - DVD Movie Reviews8.0101

Tags: 2009, abigail breslin, awktard, Bill Murray, emma stone, horror, horror comedy, horror movie, jesse eisenberg, latest movie reviews, recent3, romantic comedy, ruben fleischer, woody harrelson, zombie boobs, zombie comedy