Review: Warm Bodies

A zombie rom-com is not something that easily rolls off the tongue in a figurative sense.  The two genres seem to go together about as well as “lamb and tuna fish” (obscure Big Daddy reference).  So when I first heard about Warm Bodies, I was a bit skeptical.  Since it was based on the novel by Isaac Marion, I figured there could be a market for it with the young adult/tween crowd, but was not sure how it would play for the rest of society.  Having watched the movie I can you tell that it is very much a mixed bag of a film.

The movie places us in a post apocalyptic world where three different humans reside – the living, zombies, and bonies (the equivalent of zombies on steroids).  The plot details the existence of our protagonist R – a zombie played by Nicholas Hoult, who is struggling with his existence as a corpse.  When he meets the lovely Julie (Teresa Palmer), he finds that she brings out a new side of him.  Can he overcome the obstacles that would separate a zombie and a living person from having a relationship?  Well, you have to watch the movie to find out the answer to that question.

What is refreshing about this movie is that it comes at the zombie genre from a different angle.  Seeing things through the lens of the zombie definitely makes things feel fresh and provides an opportunity to spoof zombie flicks in a way that Shaun of the Dead and other such films cannot.  The protagonist provides a witty and lucid inner monologue, which sets up a nice contrast to his physical action.  In this role, Nicholas Hoult does a very credible job and displays a better than expected comedic sense.

Another check mark in the good column is the overall work of the cast.  Rob Corddry as R’s zombie best friend M, is funny in limited screen time.  While he will never get top billing, you can be sure that once a movie, Corddry will provide at least one memorable laugh-out-loud moment. Teresa Palmer as the love interest won’t be nominated for any awards for her work in this film, but she is good at looking endearingly at our love struck zombie protagonist.  As simple as this may sound, those romantic glances are a huge necessity to pull off the kind of romantic cheese writer/director Jonathan Levine is trying to peddle.

Despite this good stuff, flawed logic and plot holes drag this film down.  It’s almost silly to say because we are talking about a film featuring a romance between a zombie and a living woman, but the film’s plot breaks the rules of its own reality a number of times, which is a major letdown because it seems that just a bit of due diligence would have cleaned this script up a lot.  I came away from the viewing feeling that Levine wrote down to his audience rather than produce a clean narrative with larger aspirations.

So when a film is a mixed bag of good and bad like this one, the best you can hope for is that the positive outweigh the negatives.  In Warm Bodies, the interesting premise and fresh take on two genres is essentially negated by foolish errors and patches of mediocre writing, but the work of the cast in this film ultimately tips the scales towards the positive.  Hoult, Palmer, and Corddry along with John Malkovich and Dave Franco provide just enough laughs and “awww” moments to keep the audience engaged.  Unless you are really desperate for a romantic Valentine’s Day movie, I don’t think it is necessary to see this one in the theaters.  It’s a classic rental that won’t make a big impact on your life, but also won’t have you cursing at the Red Box vending machine.  However, should you find yourself in a bind to find a cinematic adventure to cap off a perfectly romantic Valentine’s Day, might I suggest A Good Day to Die Hard.  Nothing says love like Bruce Willis blowing up a bunch of stuff.

Standout Performance: Rob Corddry.  At one juncture, he made the whole cinema erupt with laughter.  Kudos to him.