Warm Bodies

Life for Julie (Teresa Palmer) and R (Nicholas Hoult) couldn’t be more different. R is a zombie; with a great record collection; limited vocab and an overpowering love of brain food. Julie is a human; beautiful; strong; open minded and all heart. When R makes an unexpected decision and rescues Julie from a zombie attack, his lifeless existence begins to have a purpose. As the unlikely relationship develops, R’s choice to protect her sets in motion a sequence of events that might just change both of their worlds forever. Directed by Jonathan Levine ( 50/50) and based on the debut novel by Isaac Marion, the heart-warming Warm Bodies is 2013’s zom-rom-com with a twist. If true love is meant to be, what does it matter if one is human and the other a zombie? Warm Bodies is a pretty delightful, tongue-in-cheek romantic comedy loosely based on Romeo and Juliet. But the Capulets and Montagues have much more in common than do R, the hipster zombie boy character (played by Nicholas Hoult), and Julie (Teresa Palmer), a girl human. Warm Bodies takes place after the zombie apocalypse (of course), and on the surface it appears to be Twilight for zombie fans. Happily, writer-director Jonathan Levine has taken the concept a step further than the novel by Isaac Marion. As a result, Warm Bodies is just self-aware enough to keep the whole idea from being too precious. The viewer knows that the two young leads were born to be together--if they can work with their hearts and their brains. Complicating matters is the fact that Julie's dad (John Malkovich, having a wickedly good time) is the boss of all the humans fighting the zombies. Let's just say Julie definitely has her work cut out for her. Warm Bodies will thrill younger viewers who adore Twilight, but fans of great romantic comedies with a light touch will like it just as much. --A.T. Hurley