Zombieland is a Gas!

SDP has been unwavering on one vital point of public policy: protecting America from the Zombie menace. In fact, our commitment to gun rights is largely motivated by our stern conviction that only an armed citizenry has any chance against hordes of the walking dead.

So, over the years, we have paid attention to zombies in film and literature. In that spirit my colleagues Dr. Schaff and Dr. Grettler accompanied me to Zombieland. I think we all agreed that it was about as much fun as any movie we have seen this year.

It stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). The four are survivors of the zombie plague that has killed nearly everyone, and they are known to each other by their hometowns: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock. Columbus, a nerdy college student who was afraid of everything and could only dream of having a girlfriend, is finally driven out into the world by its near demise. He serves as narrator and gives us a list of rules (#2: always shoot the zombie twice) that is simultaneously hilarious and worth writing down in case the real thing happens.

Small spoiler: the zombies are pz2 class creatures. They are pseudo-zombies, which is to say, not really dead but living human beings converted into zombie-like beings by a virus. The "2" indicates that they are fast pseudo-zombies, as opposed the staggering speed creatures that once populated the genre.

The excellence of the movie depends on two things. First, it maintains an almost perfect balance between horror movie seriousness and comic relief. Second, it is chock full of very funny, very original and unexpected lines. Example: "You're like a giant cockblocking robot made by the government," and "God Bless Rednecks! Big trucks and bigger guns."

End of the world movies are very popular. Zombies walk through a lot of them. I don't think there is much seriousness in this movie, though there is at least a vague we only came alive when everyone else died theme, and a weird sort of pro-family theme. But it is consistently delicious.

Comments

[Danny doom]

Zombieland is hilarious and Woody is a perfect match

[KB]

I certainly agree, Danny.