The saying "history repeats itself," is quite fitting for cinema. We are living [and enduring] a number of fads right now. A large majority we will regret telling our offspring the magnitude in which we so voraciously supported such trends. However, the zombie fad as of the past ten years have proven quite fruitful. Movies ranging from comedic homages, like Shaun of the Dead to hyper-realistic social commentaries of the 28 Days/28 Weeks caliber; all have added depth to the horror genre and our current zombie fad. The question is, where does Zombieland fit into all of this?
Zombieland stars Jesse "Michael Cera Before Michael Cera" Eisenberg as "Columbus" a young man headed to my lovely city, Columbus, Ohio*. Columbus is your typical nervous-nelly of a nerd who just cannot seem to figure out the ladies. How do I know this? Well, Columbus cannot help but give us a semi-overly wordy inner monologue speech. Within these speeches contains a healthy tutorial of the rules of survival, which were pretty well executed considering this would be referenced in multiple points of the movie in particularly clever ways. After every good Jesse Eisenberg movie I see, I'm always shouting that he gets more work, but we know 'The Cera' will just keep taking his roles.
Zombie + Clown = Nightmares For A Week...Easy
Columbus gets his name from his new pal and zombie killing aficionado, Tallahasee [Woody Harrelson]. Tallahasee's reasoning for naming people after the cities they are headed to is centered around not being emotionally attached to someone who could be killed or 'turned'. Though Tallahasee has the weaker of the Zombieland casts back story, his Twinkie fetish and "nut up or shut up" attitude kept him as a favorite. Were Columbus is the rule writer and planner, Tallahasee is the older experienced rebel who seemingly has nothing to live for.
Typically most horror movies falter when introducing a romantic element. Zombieland unfortunately falls victim to this cliche at times, but pulls it off better than most. When meeting the final two characters, Little Rock [Abigail Breslin] and Wichita [Emma Stone], we get a drag of about fifteen minutes of some fairly dry back story and cat and mouse. The ladies were grifters prior to the outbreak and it would seem that being surrounded by an impending 'zombicidal' doom has not prevented them in their conquest to ... well ... I still do not know why they became thieves.
She May Steal Your Heart As Well. [Awwwwwww]
Be that as it may, Zombieland's shining moments are plentiful. Even a special cameo appearance did nothing but add some of the best moments in this horror-comedy. Beware it is gory, but it is more comedy based. Where Shaun of the Dead had more wit and references, Zombieland has more head-shots and linear story telling [go here, shoot this, get out]. Zombieland is more comparable to a Left 4 Dead or a Dead Rising, sorry about the video game references, but it really does apply. Although this is a movie, the way the characters and setting is established, the viewer really does not need an in depth back story. Aside from Eisenberg's 'Wonder Years-esque' voice over soliloquies, Zombieland is the perfect film for a movie goer who just wants to see some fun[ny] zombie killing action. Watch it, it's good for your brains.
I give Zombieland...
A Big Booming Belch
*I've noticed a fair amount of my local publications gushing over Zombieland. All of their reviews can't help but gush over the fact that this young man is heading to our little city, as if Columbus is now on the map thanks to Jesse Eisenberg ... weird.