Warm Bodies - 3 smiles

“Warm Bodies” is the first romantic zombie comedy, told from the viewpoint of the zombie. And it’s a pleasure to watch. It takes the boy-meets-girl framework and gives it an inventive twist that covers all of the typical movie scenarios of young love amid chaos and disaster. There are many clever lines and bits of physical comedy and it helps that the main character’s interior monologue, a deadpan account of life as a zombie, wins you over from the start. There are a lot of pop-culture references from a make-up scene with ‘Pretty Woman’ playing in the background to a balcony moment reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. The joy of the movie results from the stars’ performances. Palmer is a reminder of Kristen Stewart (but far more likable) and Hoult exhibits a lot of offbeat charisma as the inexpressive zombie R.

R (Hoult) has slid far enough from humanity that he can’t remember his name, what he did or how he dies, but he still hazily recalls some of the finer joys of life. He spends most of his days lumbering around an airport with the rest of the undead, trying to avoid the vicious, skeletal Boneys (zombies who have surrendered any trace of humanity and are solely interested in eating anything with a beating heart). After he encounters survivalist Julie (Teresa Palmer), and it’s love at first sight, he eats Julie’s boyfriend's brains. But he saves her by smearing her with blood to mask her human scent and spirits her away to his lair in an abandoned airplane. Falling in love has a humanizing effect on R, which has bigger ramifications on the rest of the zombie population. But complications ensue – boy loses girl, remember? Her father (John Malkovich) is the self-appointed general of a militia trying to exterminate the zombies. “Warm Bodies” has a warm sense of humor and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which makes it a delightful way to spend an afternoon. 2/1/13