REVIEW: Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland
Rated: R
Runtime: 80 minutes
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
My rating: 4 stars
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Zombieland is a movie-fan’s movie. It’s not going to the an all-time classic, nor will we be looking back on it in 20 years, saying this was the funniest film of this decade, but it is better than Shawn of the Dead and I argue funnier than The Hangover.
Yeah, I said it.
Zombieland is about a kid from Columbus, OH, who is also named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg). Columbus is surviving in a post-apocalyptic world ridden with zombies. When we meet him, he knows not of another uninfected human. He survives on intelligence and a strict set of rules, which include “beware of bathrooms,” “maintain cardio” and my favorite “double tap.”
He mocks the clichés of the zombie-horror genre throughout, saying things like “You know when you think you’ve killed a zombie and you’re looking at it to see if it’s dead. Just pull the trigger again. It’s almost never dead.”
He is trying to find his way back to Columbus to see if his family is still alive. Along the road he meets Tallahassee (Woody Harelson). The pair team to kill zombies and get Columbus back home. Along the road they meet Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).
The two girls swindle and trick the boys. Typical women. But since there are only two other known humans alive to the girls, they decide to travel with the boys.
The ensuing road trip – at first to Hollywood – is filled with hilarious kills, gaffes, and laughs, especially when they get to the hallowed gates of BM’s house. Tallahassee loves BM.
I liken this to Scream for its knowledge of genre history and its entertainment value for those who don’t.
It’s fun for everyone, but those who catch and understand the endless references (“I’m not very good at leaving. So… ‘That’ll do, pig’”) are rewarded. I found myself laughing when no one else was.
Start-to-finish, this is the funniest film of the year. It’s not in-your-face funny, like The Hangover, it’s subtle humor about girls, coming-of-age, regrets and, of course, zombies. Four stars.
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Where it's playing:
Canton/PotsdamSHOWTIMES
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