Saturday, August 14, 2010

Zombieland Movie Review

So there I was laying in bed disgusted with the Yankees getting trounced by Kansas City and desperate for something to watch at around 10:00 at night. A search of the cable movie channels came up with one movie I thought I could endure. I had lucked out and caught Zombieland just as it had started. Staring me in the face was the latently insane puss of Woody Harreleson. Ok, I was hooked. I must admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for Zombies and Zombie movies. Perhaps this mild obsession started as a child watching Zacherly at night. Ghouls, goblins and zombies were part of my staple diet. I actually believe that zombies have gotten a bad rap most of the time but it's not nearly as bad as the plight of ghouls in Hollywood. But that's another story for another time.

Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, is a well done, funny movie of interest. It's not as outrageously funny as Shaun of the Dead, nor is it as scary, but it demonstrates a tongue in cheek humor worthy of praise.

There are a few things that stood out for me about this movie. The first is Bill Murray. Murray's cameo role adds a touch of class to the middle transitional scenes. They are superbly done. The screenwriters shine as they integrate Murray so seamlessly but absurdly into the ongoing travels and travails of our antiheroes. BM, as he is known in the movie, plays himself in an understated, gem of a part. The movie is worth seeing just for this. He remains a master.

The second area of interest for me, and an area for which I am very grateful, is that the movie does not take itself seriously. Whenever it looks like the plot will turn to a traditional zombie motif, the Harrelson and Eisenberg characters through sheer stupidity stop that process in its tracks. But it is their endearing charm as characters that makes the pair stand out and worthy of our concern.

It's also the little things that perk things up throughout the movie: two arms attached to a steering wheel with no body, a zombie clown, a zombie killing nun, obese zombies, wedding zombies, etc., etc.  I loved this.  The writers took the time to imagine what a zombie epidemic might be like.  Very funny.

Zombieland is not a perfect movie, it drags at times and a tad more scary stuff would have helped. The ending scenes could have had a greater sense of urgency. Harrelson saves the day with an outrageous Alamo like zombie, human stand off at a concession stand.

Zombieland is worth seeing. It's entertaining and different enough to sustain ongoing interest. By the way, the Yankees defeated Kansas City that night with a spectacular come from behind victory. I missed all of that because I was watching Zombieland. What could be the meaning of this?

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