Zombieland

We're members of the generation who were told as children, "You can do whatever you want if you just try." "Follow your heart" and "Embrace life to the fullest" are common gag-inducing mantras nowadays. But how many people actually do what they love? We're plagued by insecurities, overbearing parents, and a failing economy. Even if people proudly join the stupid Facebook group "I picked a major I like, and one day I will probably be living in a box," they usually end up in law school. But if someone was going to, say, make a movie about remembering what it feels like to have that nothing-to-lose mentality, where would they start?

With zombies, obviously.

My favorite part is that this is a zombie movie that isn't about zombies. The zombies are a vehicle--they give the four characters a reason to:
1. Forget every restriction of society (like the unwritten rule that it's not OK to go around looting and smashing random cars' windows, for example)
2. Go on a cool journey cross-country (luckily with an unlimited supply of gas)
3. Learn to get along with each other (it's not like there's a single other human being on the planet)
4. Meet celebrities (and get away with murder)
5. Lose inhibitions and hook up, but not distastefully. (see #3)

Each character starts out determined not to trust anyone. Because of this, nobody has names, and they are referred to only by their destinations. Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, just wants to see if his family has survived the zombie virus. His debilitating insecurities make him lovable, and the unlikely pairing with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), makes for some excellently awkward conversation.

The two sisters' (played by Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone of Superbad) unwavering determination to get to Pacific Playland is cute. They have nothing left to work towards or live for, so they come up with a goal--they will survive and they WILL have fun, despite the fact that the world as they know it is destroyed. In keeping with the trust noone policy, they con Columbus and Tallahassee twice. Of course, after all is said and done, they all end up one big happy family. Fighting zombies is the ultimate trust exercise. And who wouldn't choose being friends over the alternative (see #3)?

Something I really like about this movie is the sense of place. I don't feel like enough movies and books really put setting to good use. Not only does the movie explore every aspect of the various destinations the characters end up at, but the destinations are well-chosen in the first place--lots of vivid colors, full of things good for smashing, just all-around imagination candy. I mean, why stick to hunting zombies in downtown Atlanta (that's where part of the opening sequence was filmed!) when you can hunt them in quirky gift shops in New Mexico, or gas station bathrooms, or Bill Murray's house, or an amusement park? Just think of all the great possibilities for zombies in amusement parks. I won't ruin it for you, but just think.

Woody Harrelson was also great in this, and provided the film with lots of nicely packaged take-away phrases, like "Nut up or shut up," and "That'll do, pig." They may have tried a little too hard to get "Nut up or shut up" to stick, seeing as Harrelson's character uses it twice in the movie AND I see the phrase is in a big banner stretching across the photo on imdb.com. Still, his character is not cliche at all. He's obsessed with Twinkies and his ardent quest for just a taste of the golden snack cake develops his character nicely. (When they visit Bill Murray's mansion, the Twinkie clip from Ghostbusters is conveniently shown in Murray's personal home theater--a little contrived, but I still appreciate the effort to connect everything.)

Definitely too much unnecessary gore, especially in the opening sequence, because this movie isn't really about zombies at all. It's a comedy! And like a lot of comedies, there are some moments that are just absolutely over the top. Still, I think, overall, the movie strikes a good balance of an organically unfolding plot and outrageously absurd events so that the audience is willing to accept and laugh at the ridiculous things and still get something a little deeper out of it.