Stereotypical zombie movies such as Night of the Living Dead capitalize on the more horrific aspect of zombies. Zombieland focuses on a different, significantly more enjoyable aspect: their humorous side.
Zombieland, a horror/comedy from director Ruben Fleischer, stars Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland) as the protagonist/narrator. He is an overly cautious college student who has survived in post-zombie-apocalyptic America due to his own irrational set of rules. This ridiculous list includes such rules as “limber up” and “don’t be a hero”. On his way back to his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, he meets up with a man who is on his way to Tallahassee, Florida, played by Woody Harrelson (TV’s Cheers). The two men decide to travel together, but for the sake of not “getting too close” to one another, they don’t exchange names. Instead, they refer to each other by the names of the cities they are attempting to reach: Columbus and Tallahassee, respectively. They meet two sisters, played by Emma Stone (Superbad) and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), who tell them that there is an amusement park in California that is supposedly zombie-free. The group joins forces and embarks on a cross-country, zombie-slaying road trip to safety.
A comedy about zombies (apparently called a “zom-com”) may sound like an unconventional idea, but Zombieland proves that if executed correctly, the idea can be developed into comedic brilliance. All four actors in this movie give hilarious and believable performances of each of their characters. Each one of them falls deeply into character in a way that shines a light of realism on them. With four completely different acting styles on screen at one time, there is plenty of room for awkward conversations, failed jokes, or otherwise poor comedic chemistry. Fortunately, Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone, and Breslin mesh together so well it appears as if they had acted together for years.
Eisenberg, recovering from his disgraceful lapse in judgment that was Adventureland, plays a similar role in Zombieland, albeit in a more humorous way this time around. His nervous, quiet acting style is a perfect comedic medium when put on screen next to Harrelson. The most enjoyable parts of the movie are the two actors’ verbal exchanges, ranging from their standoff first meeting to their search for a Twinkie in a zombie-infested grocery store. The two complement each other impeccably, allowing one to effectively bounce jokes off of the other.
Despite being a comedy, Zombieland is a zombie flick through and through. With as much gore, bloodshed, and maiming as could be expected from a movie about a zombie outbreak, a lack of violence is in no way a concern here. In fact, the violence frequently combines with the comedy for several hilarious zombie kills.
The majority of comedies today are either afraid to put emotional elements into their movie or do so in a horrible way, but Zombieland yet again pulls this off. Not only is the director not afraid to weave heart into the movie, but he does it well. There are just enough emotional elements to make it seem more tangible to the audience, but not so many that it overshadows the comedy and softens the movie.
With the exception of The Hangover, most recent comedies have failed to impress critics. Following its trend of shattering all previous expectations surrounding it, Zombieland again surprises by wowing critics, achieving an 88% on RottenTomatoes.com’s “Tomato Meter”. Ellen Fox of The Rotten Tomatoes Show says, “A lot of other films have tried and failed to combine gore, laughs, and smarts: Zombieland gets the recipe right, and even throws in a handful of heart.”
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