'Zombieland' is one funny zombie action flick
By Marcus Rodriguez
Staff Writer
“Rules to survive Zombieland number 32: Enjoy the little things,” says Columbus, the scrawny, high-school-age protagonist played by Jesse Eisenberg.
This quote from Sony Pictures’ “Zombieland,” directed by Ruben Fleischer, is probably the best piece of advice I can give when sitting down to watch this sweet and funny zombie action comedy.
This is a movie where lovable losers get a second chance at life, albeit in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested world. Think of “A Christmas Carol,” but replace the ghosts of past, present and future with a few thousands pounds of fake blood and intestines being ripped and gnarled from torsos.
Little thing number one I liked: Woody Harrelson, who plays the alcoholic action junkie known as Tallahassee. The characters don’t give their real names, so they’re named after the destinations they’re trying to get to.
Ever since I saw the movie “Kingpin,” I’ve grown to respect and admire Woody Harrelson as an actor. In “Kingpin” or in “White Men Can’t Jump” he mastered the art of the tragic loser who makes you cry one minute, then does the dumbest thing imaginable the next.
Tallahassee is no different. He’s a man who has managed to kill hundreds of zombies, save the lives of his friends countless times and at the same time is on a mission to find the last Twinkies on Earth before they expire. There’s something about a lazy, self-absorbed, egotistical, sloppy, dysfunctional dumb-ass who falls backwards into the role of the appealing action hero. Maybe it’s because Tallahassee is so warm and likable, even when he’s drunk, playing the banjo, slaying zombies or masters all of the above at the same time.
In addition to Harrelson and Eisenberg, are excellent Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin, who play Wichita and Little Rock, a street-wise pair of sisters trying to make their way to a Disneyland-like amusement park in California where it’s rumored to be zombie-free.
Little thing number two I liked: Zombies. Honestly, it almost doesn’t even matter how good a movie is, if it has zombies, I’ll give it a shot. Although personally, and I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, I prefer the classic, slow zombies, from movies like “Dawn of the Dead” over the speedy creatures of “Zombieland.”
Classic zombies move like customers at the DMV, slow and dead inside, the way you’d expect an organism composed of rotting flesh to move. However, if anybody gets cornered with a bunch of them, the zombies turn and feast on the human like a pack of rabid dogs.
New zombies move like they should have NFL contracts. But without the slow-moving bodies inching their way closer and closer, where’s the tension? The zombies’ faster speed, however, is addressed by Columbus’ first rule to survive Zombieland: “Cardio - always be ready to run.”
The movie wisely doesn’t spend much time trying to scientifically explain what caused the zombie outbreak. Columbus simply narrates, “You remember mad cow disease? Well … mad cow … mad person … mad zombie.”
Spoiler alert: One of the best reasons to see this movie is for the surprise cameo appearance of Bill Murray, whose deadpan style of performance finds the most literal of homes in this genre.
Overall, this was an enjoyable movie, and as long as you’re not expecting the next great zombie epic you’ll enjoy the ride.
