Mark Trammell
It’s high time for another zombie comedy or zom-com, if you’re so inclined. Sure, there was the Norwegian import “Dead Snow” earlier this year, but for those who like their zom-coms sans subtitles, there’s “Zombieland.” Besides, we’re on the verge of vampire overload at this point, so I say bring on the zombies!
Even in serious mode, zombies have always been more fun than most any other monster mash, from vamps to werewolves to the big G himself, Godzilla. Granted, it may be a matter of personal taste - no pun intended - but zombies are just inherently entertaining. After all, when you get down to it, they’re basically just us - we the people - reduced to our basest tendencies.
That’s also what makes the final setting of “Zombieland,” an amusement park, so apropos. Just as the shopping mall was the perfect setting for the two versions of “Dawn of the Dead,” so does an amusement park fit the bill for “Zombieland,” itself a big old funhouse ride in the guise of a movie. It’s the kind of movie where the action stops just so the principals can destroy a kitschy tourist trap. Just because, hey, who hasn’t wanted to destroy stuff for no good reason other you know you could get away with it? Or have the run of an amusement park, for that matter? “Zombieland” is filled with stuff you just know the filmmakers do because they can.
The fun begins when Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, who can’t seem to stay away from amusement parks this year, between this and “Adventureland”) sets out to his hometown of, well, Columbus, Ohio, hence the name. He meets a fellow traveler, Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson, in “Natural Born Killers” mode, but with a softer underbelly, who suggests the name game. The idea is, if you don’t get too close to someone, it’ll be easier to take them out, should they get the dreaded zombie bite, which all zombie fans know is a one-way ticket to Zombieville upon one’s death. Hey, “Zombieville.” There’s your sequel - you’re welcome.
Eventually, they run afoul of Wichita (Emma Stone, of “Superbad”) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, a long way from “Little Miss Sunshine”), a sister team of swindlers. After some hard-earned bonding, they eventually come to terms with one another and team up to go to California, so that Wichita can let Little Rock be a kid again by taking her back to the amusement park they visited as kids. Along the way, they make a few stops here and there to refuel, get food, and kill a few random zombies. That’s about it.
Eisenberg is at his Eisenberg-iest, which is good news for fans. A cut-rate Michael Cera no more, he’s finally found his defining film. You can keep your “Squid and the Whale,” thank you very much. His narration, in which he details the ins and outs of surviving in Zombieland, is priceless, and, if his list trails off a bit towards the end, it definitely provides some of the film’s biggest laughs early on. It’s also great to see Harrelson back in fine, wise-cracking form after a string of serious flicks. Stone and Breslin make a beguiling couple of con artists, with Stone all smoky-eyed sass and Breslin adorable, even when wielding a shotgun.
There’s a hilarious scene-stealing Bill Murray cameo complete with stellar past-film-quoting goodness. (Don’t forget to stay past the credits for one more Murray bon mot.) Also, the killer soundtrack features old-school Metallica (over a fantastic opening sequence), Van Halen and Velvet Underground, plus newer bands like Metric, Doves and the Raconteurs, as well as excellent, ironic use of “Puppy Love” and “Popular” from Broadway’s “Wicked.” In short, “Zombieland” gets a lot of things right.
Sure, it’s a bit slight, and even at only an hour and twenty minutes, it’s a bit poky at times, but they’re not exactly trying to reinvent the wheel here. It does exactly what it sets out to: entertain its core fan-base. If you like zombie movies, you’ll like this, plain and simple.
