Either I’m blinded by patriotism or Americanizing something inevitably makes it better. The Office continues to be a smash success. Ever watch the British version? Meh. Ever try truly authentic Italian pizza? Pretty disappointing compared to our stuffed-crust, grease-laden pepperoni pizzas of the American homeland. And now, with the release of Zombieland, we’ve Americanized the comedic zombie film, a horror take first widely popularized by Shaun of the Dead. Through its outstanding characters, goofy humor, and tried, true, and beloved setting, Zombieland is an outstanding way to spend an October evening.
Forget the zombies for a moment. The antagonists could have been anything. Zombieland’s characters are its shining star. The Brits of Shaun have nothing on these goofballs. Each is quirky in his or her own right. Columbus (Jess Eisenberg) is an “unlikely survivor,” a withdrawn (but impressively fit), college geek who has survived the Zombie-Pocalypse via following a list of anal-retentive rules and regulations dictating survival. Every time a rule is followed, the movie breaks the fourth wall and text flashes on the screen highlighting the rule’s effectiveness. Columbus’ buddy, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), is a gun and knife-toting, redneck maniac with a heart of gold.
Most of the plot threads are the direct result of his quest to enjoy some of the Earth’s last remaining Twinkies (before they all expire, of course). Two sisters, Wichita and Little Rock (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin), are a couple of seasoned con artists who manage to completely rob the other two of all their weapons and vehicles - twice. Their main goal is to make it to an amusement park. Sensible? No. Interesting? Why not?
Like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland pulls no punches in the category of gore. It’s just like any George Romero film or remake. Brains splatter, innards spill, and bones shatter. Instead of cringing at a woman flying out of a windshield and crashing bloodily onto the pavement, for some reason, you just have to laugh at all the shocking imagery. Why? I have no idea. At its heart, this is a comedy, but the filmmakers pay proper tribute to the setting and genre. The mood is consistently lightened by the characters' strange, understated reactions to the film's horrors, but make no mistake, getting caught by a horde of zombies is not a scene of the camera panning away or losing sight of its victim; it’s a horrific mess.
If ever Zombieland had faults, it’s being derivative. I almost felt like I was watching Superbad injected with the undead, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There’s only one star, Stone, from Superbad in this film, but Columbus’ character is obviously copy and pasted from Michael Cera’s (Juno, Arrested Development) persona. Hell, if you didn’t know any better, it would be easy to completely mistake Eisenberg for Cera from just the previews. And in the spirit of meanness, let’s just say that all the fat zombie victims (too slow to escape) are based entirely on Jonah Hill. But hey, that’s Americanization for ya, and I don’t care one bit.
In addition, there’s a character twist towards the end that doesn’t ring true and almost soured Woody Harrelson’s role entirely. SPOILER ALERT! Through dialogue and a flashback, the audience learns that the mental breaking point for Tallahassee was the loss of his very best friend, a cute and cuddly puppy. You see Tallahassee idyllically feeding him pancakes with syrup and spinning him in the air amidst some arguably gross face licking. It perfectly contrasts yet at the same time complements his mania. However, he later lets it slip that he didn’t lose a puppy; he lost his young son. Look, I get it.
In order to stay distanced (only hometowns; no real names), he gave a bogus story about losing a puppy rather than his only child; when the characters grow close, he can emote. But I’m calling bullshit. It’s a cheap trick performed by an unreliable narrator. I mean, the whole film contains accurate voice-over elements by Columbus; why should the audience have doubted a flashback? Am I overreacting? Probably. But If he hadn’t gone on a self-sacrificing zombie massacre in the middle of an amusement park, his spark of beloved insanity could have been completely lost.
The above two minor quibbles aside, Zombieland is a blast. It doesn’t have to make much sense. Two young girls can take two grown men hostage but then stupidly go to a zombie-infested amusement park? Alone? Whatever. It doesn’t matter; the segment was awesome. The actors nail their characters dead-on, and zombies, the sympathetic, everyman monsters, have become the new American icon for horror (step aside Linda Blair). Here’s to a sequel and Bill Murray having worn a bullet-proof vest (you’ll see).
10/10
