Zombieland
Lacking Shaun of the Dead’s genre mash-up savvy, or the sly satire of last year’s Zombie Strippers!, Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland is probably the weakest of the recent zom-coms. But it’s an enjoyable lark, a gentle-spirited road movie about the importance of human connection, particularly if you’re stuck in a post-apocalyptic wasteland riddled with flesh-eating monsters.
Jesse Eisenberg stars as a dweeby, World of Warcraft-addicted shut-in who unexpectedly survives a cannibalistic plague set off by tainted highway rest stop cheeseburgers. The stammering virgin’s OCD serves him well in this decimated cityscape, as neurotic exercise rituals and seat-belt fixations prove surprisingly useful when you’re attacked by the walking dead.
But everything changes once he meets Tallahassee, a rowdy zombie-killing machine played with hammy gusto by the always welcome Woody Harrelson. They forge an unlikely partnership with the kind of bickering chemistry that’s familiar from a thousand mismatched buddy flicks, but pleasurable all the same.
Along come some underaged con-artists played by Superbad’s beguiling Emma Stone and pint-sized Abigail Breslin. You won’t get any points for guessing that an unlikely little dysfunctional family unit is somehow forged once these four hit the road together. Let’s just say that Zombieland has a lot more in common with Little Miss Sunshine than just Breslin.
The screenplay, by Rhett Reeseand Paul Wernick, doesn’t have much interest in the usual zombie movie metaphors, save for offering a pretty convincing rationale for these characters’ chronic fear of intimacy. When a quick bite from a gray-skinned stranger can instantly transform a loved one into a murderous monster, it’s tough to open up and trust people.
Sure, there are a few splattery set-pieces, most revolving around Harrelson’s over-zealous dispatching of the undead, but they tend to feel on loan from other movies. Zombieland’s surprisingly large heart lies in the increasingly affectionate banter between these four lost souls, and it’s a pleasure to watch them let their guards down.
Clocking in at a brisk 81 minutes, the movie knows how to get in and out before wearing out its welcome. But be careful how much you read about it in advance, as nearly a quarter of the film is devoted to a surprising detour involving a secret Special Guest Star that only a bastard would reveal. B-
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