Once is good, but a 'Double Tap' is not recommended

Rating: 5/10 (17 September 2010)

I was pleasantly surprised with the first third of 'Zombieland' when I discovered it's more like a comic buddy road movie than some dumb horror slasher-fest. The introductory 'documentary' sets the comic tone: right off the bat Zombieland announces that it's not politically correct (a "fatty" is unable to outrun a Zombie on an athletic field). Jesse Eisenberg's narration, with all his neat rules on how to survive in Zombieland, adds to the overall humor of the story (the "rules" are illustrated twice—first during the introduction and then later as we follow Jesse's character 'Columbus' as he must personally survive the wrath of the Zombies). Perhaps the rules that garnered the most cinematic mileage were "Double Tap" (it takes two blows to kill a Zombie) and "Fasten Your Seat Belt" (you never know when you have to stop short and have a Zombie fly through your windshield!).
Zombieland is set in a post-apocalyptic America where a strain of Mad Cow Disease has turned most people into Zombies. Instead of merely concentrating on the Zombies for most of the picture, the films' scenarists wisely focus on the relationship between Columbus and his redneck buddy, Tallahassee (well-played by Woody Harrelson). Tallahassee's love for Twinkies and his skill in taking out the Zombies with various weapons of choice makes the character interesting. He's nicely contrasted with Columbus, the obsessive-compulsive nerdy college kid, who needs to overcome a clown phobia before he can finally break loose in his interpersonal relationships.
Since I like my fantasy pictures to be as plausible as my true-life dramas, I found the flashback scene where Columbus must fend off the young girl he takes in to his apartment as particularly weak. It's not that I minded her sudden transformation into a Zombie, but what happened to all the other college students in Columbus' dorm? Did they all turn into Zombies at the same time the young girl did? And why didn't we see any news reports that people were turning into Zombies? It's as if the transformation from America into Zombieland happened in one night.
Once Columbus and Tallahassee meet up with the two young women, "Wichita" and "Little Rock", I felt the story began to lose steam. I didn't really care that the two women were con men and were able to steal our hapless hero's' SUV. And the second scene, where they all agree to a truce and sort of become friends seemed interminably long.
Before they get to Hollywood, there's a rather unpleasant scene where Tallahassee (with the others joining him) destroy souvenirs in a Native-American tourist shop. While the knick-knacks were probably made in China, they still looked pretty good to me and even though this was supposed to be a post-apocalyptic landscape where private property was now irrelevant, the destruction of what appeared to be a part of Native-American culture still rubbed me the wrong way.
Somehow, the Billy Murray cameo was supposed to be funny and it makes sense that Murray would have survived the Zombie plague in real life. But the ending of the cameo wasn't funny as Columbus mistakenly shoots and kills Murray after he mistakes him for a Zombie.
Tallahassee's internal arc seems to be resolved when Columbus does finally realize his buddy has a sensitive side; he discovers that Tallahassee has been been pining away for his young son rather than his dog.
The film's denouement seemed quite abrupt. Columbus and Tallahassee must rush to the Pacific Playland Amusement Park to save the two young women who are trapped there. Card carrying members of the NRA should enjoy all the firepower as the two heroes save the women after blasting hordes of Zombies who have come after them. Columbus's internal arc is resolved when he falls in love with Wichita (now revealed to be 'Krista').
And that's basically it. The foursome ride off into the sunset with no particular destination in mind. Presumably more encounters with Zombie are in store for them. Will there be a Zombieland II? Frankly, I hope not. There are just so many Zombies one can take!