Clowns and Zombies? Creeeeeepy!
Odds are you’ve seen a zombie apocalypse movie. The wrecked out cities. The pile of cars on the freeway. The zombies chewing on a heap of previously alive folks. You get the picture.
And so does director Ruben Fleischer in this perfect mix of comedy and horror.
Join Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) a mere two months after the first undead started getting bitey with the general population. The world is in ruins and he has survived not because of his rugged manliness (Mr. Eisenberg is a master of playing the nerd, the fool, the wimp) but because of his thirty-two rules for surviving in Zombieland – his name for the new world of fire and death.
As a comedy, Fleischer is free to incorporate the rules in sight gags that will give you small, medium and gut-busting laughs. They also tie into the central plot and help move the story along.
You’ve seen the mix of characters before too – Columbus the nerd, Tallahassee the combat ready redneck, played with straight-forward panache by Woody Harrelson (does this man not age? He looks no different than he did in 1990…), the sly vixen Wichita (Emma Stone) and the street-smart waif (Abigale Breslin).
You don’t mind, because you root for all of them. You want them to succeed, to fall in love and yes, to not be torn to shreds by an army of zombies.
In a similar fashion to previous comedy zombie flick, “Shaun of the Dead”, this movie has heart. Not too much. Not too cheesy, but just enough to give each character a little touch that makes you just want to hug them… yes, even big, brawny Tallahassee.
There are no true surprises, but that’s okay. It’s a solid comedy/horror flick. You’ll laugh. You’ll love the cameo three-quarters into the film. And the finale has a nice payoff both emotionally and with pure adrenaline action.
Welcome to “Zombieland”. And remember one of the most important “Zombieland” rules… Beware of Bathrooms!
