Directed by: Jonathan Levine.
Written by: Jonathan Levine based on the novel by Isaac Marion.
Starring: Nicholas Hoult (R), Teresa Palmer (Julie), Analeigh Tipton (Nora), Rob Corddry (M), Dave Franco (Perry), John Malkovich (Grigio), Cory Hardrict (Kevin).
The biggest problem I always had with the Twilight
books and movies is that I always thought it was silly for a vampire and a human
to fall in love. After all, vampires are predators, and human are their prey,
so it’s kind of like a lion falling in love with an antelope. And vampires, of
course, are not alive, but “undead” – so they are essentially walking, talking,
killing corpses. How could someone fall in love with a corpse? And why is it
that people fall in love with vampires so easy, but never fall in love with a
zombie?
As if in answer to my query comes Warm Bodies – a funny teen romance where a zombie and a human really do fall in love. Yes, the premise is as ridiculous as Twilight, but one of the many charms of Warm Bodies is that it knows full well that the premise is ridiculous – and has some fun with it. The movie plays with the conventions not only of the zombie genre, but also romantic comedies. It isn’t trying to be a “generation defining love story” as some have ridiculously claimed Twilight is – but rather just a fun zombie comedy. And while it is no Shaun of the Dead or Zombieland, I had a hell of a lot of fun watching it.
The movie stars Nicholas Hoult as R, who also
narrates his adventure. He doesn’t remember his real name – but thinks it
started with a R – and doesn’t remember what he did for a living (although, as
he states, judging on his hoodie, he was unemployed). He doesn’t even remember
how he became a zombie, just that he is, and although he feels guilty about
eating people, he does so anyway. The “new hunger” is too strong for him to
ignore. Like many other zombies, he lives at an airport. He has made his home
in an old passenger plane that he has filled with whatever he comes across and
likes. He loves vinyl records for example, but has a lot of other stuff. One
day he and a group of zombies come across a group of survivors, and one thing
leads to another, and R is soon eating someone’s brains. This is when we learn
that when a zombie eats the brain of somehow, he gets to see their memories. I’m
sure some purists of the genre will argue this goes against well-established
genre rules, but considering I haven’t really seen another movie from the point
of view of a zombie, I cannot say it really does. Anyway, what he learns is
that the guy whose brain he is eating is in love with Julie (Teresa Palmer),
also at that raid. When R sees her, he is instantly flooded with love – and rather
than eat her, he saves her life and brings her back to his plane. Obviously,
this is not the way to start a healthy relationship, but R doesn’t really have
another option. And once Julie realizes that R means her no harm, she starts to
relax around him, and open up. And gradually, R starts becoming more and more
human.
Warm Bodies owes much of its charm to its two
stars. Hoult, who first came to audience’s attention 10 years ago in About a
Boy, has grown up a lot, and turned into quite a good actor. The role requires
him to be funny under a lot of zombie makeup for much of its running time, and
for the most part, he succeeds wonderfully. Perhaps even better is Teresa
Palmer who really did remind me of a sunnier, less mopey, Kristen Stewart, and
who is quite charming. They get good support for Annaleigh Tipton as Julie’s
best friend (who picks a perfect song for a makeover montage), John Malkovich,
who is clearly doing this for a paycheck, but it is still fine, and especially
Rob Corddry, who steals his scenes as R’s best friend M.
The film was written and directed by Jonathan
Levine, and even though it is quite different from his last film – the cancer
dramedy 50/50 – he shows once again a gift for comic timing behind the camera.
Warm Bodies may not be a great movie, but it is great fun to watch.
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