Thursday, February 4, 2010

The United States of Zombieland.

I recently watched Zombieland (2009) again since seeing it during its theatrical run and thought I should do a little write-up for it since the DVD and Bluray release was just a few days ago.

Zombieland is one of two high profile movies from 2009 that star unlikely leading man Jesse Eisenberg. I've been a fan of his since The Squid and the Whale (2005) so even though I'm surprised to see him heading two reasonably big features I'm glad to see him get the chance. I'm also pretty certain that there is going to be some backlash from people who think Michael Cera has a monopoly on the socially awkward outcast kind of character but these sort of things happen.

In Zombieland Eisenberg is Columbus (Characters in the movie don't give their real names but places, be they destinations or hometowns) one of the few remaining survivors of a zombie infested America who lives by a list of (often times humorous) zombie survival rules like the double-tap and wearing your seat belt. The movie nonchalantly explains that the zombies came about from variations of Mad Cow disease and doesn't feel the need to go further into detail, nor do I think it should, it's a movie about enjoying the time with the characters rather than wasting it on exposition that lacks any kind of emotional or character personality understanding.

Speaking of characters, let me get to the rest of them. Columbus first meets Tallahassee, a rough, slightly unhinged man with a personal vendetta for the zombies that plague the land and yet he's also strangely enough the most childlike and lovable guy in the flick. The two work like a classic Odd Couple routine and compliment each other's eccentricities very well which leads to some fine comedic moments. Along the way they cross paths with Wichita and Little Rock, a pair of girl con artists who dupe them several times before the group of them naturally become travel companions.

Zombieland is one of the most pleasant surprises I've seen from 2009. It opens up with clever excerpts from Columbus' survival list with visual accompaniment and from the beginning it's not only very funny but also engaging. One of my favorite things about the humor is the movie's use of pop culture. Pop culture references and jokes can often times bog down a decent or even good comedy, immediately dating them and making them feel inauthentic. In Zombieland however, the use of pop culture is quite fitting. These people have just witnessed the death of modern day society which essentially means the death of popular culture so every little reference feels more a part of themselves that should be preserved rather than a joke about some recent movie star or popular band.

I did find a few opportunities for improvement like how the female characters feel underwritten in comparison to the males and that the girls also seem to go against character in the last act and turn from the most intelligent of the group to making perhaps the dumbest decisions but they're minor problems in respect to the entire movie. So in conclusion, I find Zombieland to be a thoroughly amusing comedy and one of the bigger unpredicted breakout hits from 2009.

Also, if anyone is wondering now that I've done four of these, eventually I will most likely watch something that I don't actually like, but just to get things straightened out I'm a selective viewer at the moment. Most of what I watch are things I anticipate enjoying and unless anyone has suggestions or I'm paid to go see other things this trend will likely continue.

3 comments:

  1. I would really like to see a review of the greatest comedy of all time...THE HANGOVER!! Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mr. Rock!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the Michael Cera monopoly reference. Tho i didn't know monopoly put out a Michael Cera edition. Wonder if Target sells it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hah, maybe if I ever seen The Hangover again, I don't feel it would be just to do one after seeing it months ago while it was in theater.

    ReplyDelete