Saw two movies in the past week, guys and gals. "Zombieland" and "The Invention of Lying". Both had their moments, but I'd say for your money you'd probably best see "Zombieland". Let's break this down, shall we?
"Zombieland"- most characters eat brains, shamble and moan
"Lying"- most characters have no brains, plot shambles, characters talk on the phone
"Zombieland"- solid actors, gut-busting meta-universe cameo
"Lying"- Ricky Gervais makes fun of his own "solidness" and gut, best punchlines concern nonexistent metaphysical character
"Zombieland"- makes you hate clowns even more
"Lying"- makes you hate God... natch.
"The Invention of Lying" wasn't a bad film, really, just one with an obvious slant to it. I mean, we all get that writer/director Gervais is an atheist. Hell, I even agree with some of his reasons for thinking religion is ridiculous. He's a comedian, he's paid to point out absurdity. But the big problem I had was not just with the ham-fisted atheist-ing, but with the shit nature of the crapsack world the characters inhabit in "Lying".
Sure, in their world, there's no flattery, no awkwardness, and there's no misleading advertising or social faux pas, but everyone has brain-diarrhea. There aren't just no lies; there are also no omissions, so anytime someone thinks something nasty about our main character, they just spit it out. It doesn't seem to be a natural consequence of the world we're told this is; it's just a joke, a gag. It isn't really called for in the premise.
Jennifer Garner has got to be the biggest offender in the movie, if only because she is supposed to be the love interest. I have to ask, why would a nice little toad like Ricky, who plays a downtrodden sad-sack who suddenly comes to fame and fortune through lying, want to romance an absolute cunt like Garner? In the movie, her character is completely unattractive in her personality- she's mean-spirited, shallow, judgmental, and dull. Any theatergoer should have been thinking, "Hell, I could do better than that ice-queen. Ricky, what are you doing?". I know I was.
Aside from the jarring nature of seeing a movie in which no character could even censor themselves and wherein the love interest was a superficial slut, the movie wasn't terrible. It got laughs, it got jabs at the vapid religious types. But the main plot did bother me because of Garner's character, and because, at the end of the movie, when the whole sham of Ricky's lies are revealed, there is no stated consequential end to his revealed religion or anything. It just seems to fall by the wayside. Joke-wise the movie was solid, but the plot could have been done better, especially for such a wicked concept. (One of the better advertising jokes- a bus ad for Pepsi that states: "Pepsi- for when they don't have Coke". Lawls for truth.)
"Zombieland" fared a bit better, surprisingly. I went in expecting a popcorn-munching gore-comedy, but I actually got a bit more sweet, awkward road-comedy than I bargained for. Special mention has to go here to Jesse Eisenberg as our hero. Jesse is a great stand-in for when Michael Cera is not around- for proof, see Adventureland. ("Jesse Eisenberg- for when Michael Cera is busy") Woody Harrelson plays a delightful badass with a Twinkie obsession- he provides the guru-ing, although Eisenberg also has some great tips for zombie-movie survivor types. (Avoid bathrooms, check the backseat- these rules pop up helpfully in a nouvelle vague gag every time a rule is demonstrated.)
Our two lovable, tricky chicks are Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin. The two are quite cunning in this film, and it was refreshing to see female characters in a zombie flick who were neither completely asexually badass nor resolutely pouty and helpless. Instead, we get the girls scheming and plotting while still knowing how to pull off a nice headshot.
So, with our four person cast, the group dynamic falls in place naturally by personality and age difference; we get younger Abigail as our perky instigator who riles up rough-hewn but lovable Harrelson, often disgusted at the spunky youngster's lack of knowledge of old fogey culture. Emma is our badass with a heart of gold, falling for our nervous but surprisingly resourceful Jesse, who is often at odds with the intimidating and not-very-affable Harrelson. Nothing groundbreaking, but it works.
The cameo that elevates the movie from good to hilarious should be against the law to spoil- it's unexpected, but entirely apropos, and the joke is distended and stretched to cover most of the late-middle of the movie. It gets plenty of mileage not only from the jokes, but from the obvious mutual respect and affection between the cast, the writers and director, and the cameo star. The feeling of good vibes is infectious, and stays long after the credits.
So, to wrap, to wit, in totality and sum, just go see "Zombieland". Oh, and buy that new album by... who were they? That veteran rock band, new album, Matador records...
Yo La Tengo, that was it.
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