Entertaining and Original Horror-Comedy

Rating: 7/10 (14 March 2010)

Mad Cow Disease has mutated into a cannibalistic zombie-producing virus to which only a few people are immune. If adding four emotionally damaged characters including a Twinkie-obsessed nihilistic urban cowboy (Woody Harrelson), a paranoid hypochondriac teenage shut-in (Jesse Eisenberg) and a two-sister teenage con-artist team (Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone) doesn't sound like enough to turn this cyberpunk nightmare into a laugh-out-loud comedy, why not throw in Bill Murray playing himself?
I don't see many modern comedies. The theme of 21st century comedy is more often than not stupidity, which does not amuse me. What enticed me to see this film was the combination of the concept and Woody Harrelson. With the exception of 2012, Harrelson has not made a lot of bad career choices, and - let's face it - zombies have great comedic potential. I was mostly unfamiliar with the rest of the primary cast (Murray's role is a cameo), but, midway through the film I recognized Abigail Breslin from the excellent Little Miss Sunshine.
Despite its unusual premise, Zombieland, like most contemporary comedies, is presented from the perspective of a twenty-something male - its target demographic. Eisenberg's character tells the story as something between a diary and a primer on survival in Zombieland. Predictably, his romantic interest - played by Stone - is the least well-developed character in the film. Harrelson and Eisenberg's characters, however, are more than enough to carry Zombieland.
As with many contemporary comedies, it is not very strongly plotted, but unlike many of of its competitors, its characters are made memorable by a script which makes the most out of both the acting talent and the plot's significant elements. My only disappointment with this film was what seemed like an unnecessarily wandering and lengthy transition between the film's first (survival) and second plots (learning how to care), bridged by the Bill Murray cameo. While this transition offered some crucial back-story concerning the primary characters, its lack of action seemed incongruous with the rest of the film.
Nicely paced and filmed, smarter than average, and funny, Zombieland is worth seeing - once.