'Warm Bodies': Is it a funny zombie send-up or a comedy that never comes to life?
When it was first announced that 50/50 director Jonathan Levine聽would helm an adaptation of the聽novel聽聽many film-fans dismissed the project as with zombies. Still, anyone familiar with聽Isaac Marion鈥檚 book of the same name knows that the聽Warm Bodies story and tone could make for a fun (albeit campy) film 鈥� playing on traditional 鈥渦ndead鈥� tropes. Unlike similar offerings that are targeted at love-struck teenagers and twenty-somethings, this movie is well-aware of its goofiness and instead of聽melodramatic romance, Warm Bodies聽actually uses that absurdity to tackle a larger topic: the power of living.
Does Levine鈥檚 focus, and lack of shirtless heartthrobs, land the film in an awkward middle ground? Where it鈥檚 too-lighthearted to please zombie movie lovers and without enough romance to draw-in viewers hoping for the next great supernatural power couple?
Unfortunately, yes but in this case that鈥檚 a good thing. Given Levine鈥檚 resume (which also includes 2008 favorite,聽The Wackness), it shouldn鈥檛 come as a surprise that Warm Bodies is actually a solid film 鈥� held back primarily by overarching consumer backlash against paranormal romance and zombies in Hollywood. On its own terms, Warm Bodies offers a funny and witty twist on living dead mythology without getting too bogged down in drawn-out, and self-indulgent, romance story lines. Some of the film鈥檚 larger ideas rely heavily on character cliches and setups that don鈥檛 have enough time to develop but Levine moves the proceedings at a steady pace and adds enough charming moments to keep the film alive (even if the romance is just undead).
Warm Bodies centers around living corpse 鈥淩鈥� (Nicholas Hoult), who no longer remembers his name or any other details from his 鈥渓ife.鈥� Instead, he shambles around post-apocalyptic America ruminating on the state of his non-life, feeding on flesh, and grunting with his best undead friend 鈥淢鈥� (Rob Corddry) at the airport bar. However, when R and his fellow zombies eat a group of still-human scavengers, he becomes captivated by one of the young survivors, Julie (Teresa Palmer). In an effort to save Julie from his zombie brethren, not to mention the terrifying 鈥渂onies鈥� (zombies who have given up their humanity entirely), R helps his new-found crush escape and brings her to a secluded area of his home for refuge (in an abandoned airliner). To keep her safe and, selfishly, get to know her better, R hides Julie from the zombies and the bonies for days 鈥� supplying her with food and entertainment. Initially repulsed by the situation, Julie begins to trust and care for her protector 鈥� causing subtle changes in R and large ramifications for zombies and humans alike.
The setup of the film is absolutely thin 鈥� as is the 鈥渞omance鈥� between R and Julie. There鈥檚 no doubt that zombie purists will not approve of convenient changes to undead mythology, viewers will role their eyes at cheesy lines of dialogue, while others will have trouble suspending disbelief in a few underdeveloped character interactions. Yet, moviegoers who can accept the core premise and look past on-the-nose story beats will find that Warm Bodies is actually pretty entertaining and even heart-warming at times. It鈥檚 not a particularly smart love story but it makes intelligent use of genuinely likable characters and an endearing plot setup.
Nicholas Hoult literally shambles a fine line as R 鈥� in a performance that could have easily strayed into Razzie Award territory. Instead, the actor brings a lot of life to R without stepping too far in the other direction. After all, R is undead, his movements and ability to communicate stunted, but Hoult finds a way to successfully keep R on the same level as Julie 鈥� making it all the more believable that a human girl considers this corpse preferable to certain living people she also knows. At times, Hoult鈥檚 zombie mannerisms may come across a bit forced but, overall, his memorable moments outnumber (and outweigh) the awkward ones.
Similarly,聽Rob Corddry is a scene-stealer as best friend M 鈥� easily one of the most charming characters in the entire film. While Hoult is responsible for carrying the primary storyline to a satisfying conclusion, Corddry鈥檚 contributions are both humorous and heartening 鈥� with several crowd-pleasing one-liners. The film would not be nearly as successful without Corddry and, much like Hoult, the character is surprisingly impactful for someone that spends the majority of his onscreen time shambling around 鈥� communicating in grunts and stilted one-word responses.
Sadly, the 鈥渓iving鈥� characters are much less captivating than their undead counterparts. Despite a competent performance from Palmer, Julie is mostly just a MacGuffin to push R outside of his comfort zone. Aside from a few exceptions, the character鈥檚 actions and feelings are designed to drive the plot, not add sensible or meaningful drama in the moment.聽As a result, the depiction is a major factor in the movie鈥檚 biggest misstep 鈥� a forced and underwhelming 鈥渞omance鈥� plot.聽On occasion, Julie does add meaningful elements to key commentaries that run through聽Warm Bodies -聽specifically complacency in both the corpse and human societies as well as a foggy definition of what it means to be 鈥渁live.鈥�
Other human players, Perry (Dave Franco),聽Nora (Analeigh Tipton), and Julie鈥檚 father, General Grigio (John Malkovich), are resigned to familiar but narrow tropes. The characters are necessary for the overall 鈥渕essage鈥� of the movie but, on their own, don鈥檛 carry significant weight or memorable payoff.
Ultimately, the success of Warm Bodies is heavily dependent on its attempts to twist and subvert zombie movie staples 鈥� meaning that moviegoers who are expecting explosive corpse slaying set pieces and gory carnage will absolutely be underwhelmed. The creepy 鈥渂onies鈥� elevate tension in key scenes but, much like the human characters, they鈥檙e nondescript pawns with no function outside of the fundamental storyline. Instead, willing audiences will get a weird, but admittedly fun, character story. A story that includes glimpses of surprisingly smart social satire.
Not everyone will respond to the quirky plot but certain viewers are likely to enjoy Levine鈥檚 unapologetic attempts to make good on the bizarre setup.聽Zombie purists will have trouble overlooking alterations to undead genre conventions and supernatural romance enthusiasts may find the love story in Warm Bodies to be dead on arrival. However, open-minded movie-lovers with a diverse taste in聽brains聽movies may find a worthwhile experience in Levine鈥檚 blend of oddball moments, tongue-in-cheek humor, as well as a healthy dose of heart.
Ben Kendrick blogs at .
