Zombies, Comedy, Kills of the Week, and More Comedy, these are the words that describe one of the most enjoyable films of the year. There are not many films that you can say are really fun to watch the entire way through, but I have found one that has completed this difficult task and it’s called Zombieland, staring Woody Harrelson (Natural Born Killers, No Country for Old Men) and Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, The Village). This 88 minute feature is straight to the point, making sure every minute counts and wasting none of your precious time with dragged out scenes.
The premise: After America is ravaged by a zombie plague, a lone band of survivors fight the living dead while they cross the nation. They stop in an amusement park, where they believe they will be safe.
I had an opportunity to see an advanced screening of this movie in Boston, which was awesome, because both Woody and Jesse were in attendance for a Q & A session after the film ended. The theater was packed with approximately 150 zombies as part of a promotional event for people to get free tickets and this definitely made my experience much more interesting. The audience was extremely involved throughout the entire movie. Everyone was cheering, laughing, clapping and oohing at some of the great kills and a great climactic scene.
For his first feature film, Director Ruben Fleischer did an outstanding job with the style and direction of the film. The movie’s pace was perfect, incorporating a ton of comedy, with great kills, and even managed to do a great job with an awkward actor, Jesse Eisenberg, who surprisingly nailed his role (even if he was type-casted). Harrelson clearly stole the show until one of the best/funniest cameos in the history of cinema took it away. Don’t worry, I won’t say who it was, but once you see it you’ll clearly understand what I mean. Little Rock, played by Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Wichita, played by Emma Stone (Superbad, The Rocker) held their own as well. Emma was a feisty babe while Abigail reminded me of a tougher Olive from her past Little Miss Sunshine bit.
There is a short scene after the credits with the aforementioned cameo, and you will have to know his movies to really get the joke at the end, though, so it will clearly be hit or miss for viewers.
This is one movie that I cannot wait to own because it is perfect for a group of rowdy people who want nothing more than a solid action/zombie comedy. Let it be known that this movie is much different than Shaun of the Dead, and not in a bad way.
One final note about this movie-the opening credits were fantastic. The credits seemed like they were built into the movie: slow-motion Zombie attacks with blood dripping from their mouths.
Rule # 33 of Zombieland: go see the movie and have a kickass time. (You’ll understand the rule after you see it)
Rating: A fun buddy comedy that will have you laugh your heart out. (8/10)
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