Zombieland

Zombieland is not a movie made with the Academy Awards in mind; I don't think you'll see these guys on Oscar night, at least not for this film.  But as zombie movies go, this one was kind of fun.  Saying that, though, makes me wonder, what's the appeal of zombie movies?  There's even a TV series about zombies now.  Why do people dress up like zombies?  It all seems dumb to me.  So, you ask, why am I even watching a movie about zombies.  I don't know.  I'm an incorrigible movie glutton, and when I see one that looks interesting, I'm on it.  This one seemed to have potential: a comedy about a handful of survivors in an America that has become infested with zombies.  

Woody Harrelson is a crazed zombie hunter who randomly teams up with Jesse Eisenberg, a sort of nerdy everyman.  They team up with a pair of sisters on a trek to find a zombie-free zone, killing zombies along the way.  There are some pretty funny parts, but in the best scene, they follow a map of the stars' homes in Hollywood and make there way to Bill Murray's house.  They find him there, where he appears to be a zombie.  He explains to a couple of his guests that he only wears the zombie makeup to fit in, that he's not a zombie at all.  The others don't get the message, though, and shoot him dead.  I know, it sounds goofy, but it's pretty funny.

I know zombie movies are meant to communicate some sort of statement about conformity, individualism, mortality, blah, blah.  But mostly they seem to dehumanize and demean humanity.  Do the people who made Zombieland care about any of that?  No.  It's just a crazy romp with the assumptions of zombie movies as the background.  So, some funny stuff here, but, unless you're a fan of zombie movie farces, you probably can spend your time better watching something else.

Bottom line, 1 1/2 stars.