Warm Bodies (6/4/2013)

Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and some language.

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry and John Malkovich

Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50)

I knew love covered a multitude of sins, I didn’t know it cured zombieism.

A funny new twist on a classic love story, Warm Bodies is a poignant tale about the power of human connection. After a zombie epidemic, R (a highly unusual zombie) encounters Julie (a human survivor), and rescues her from a zombie attack. Julie sees that R is different from the other zombies, and as the two form a special relationship in their struggle for survival, R becomes increasingly more human — setting off an exciting, romantic, and often comical chain of events that begins to transform the other zombies and maybe even the whole lifeless world.

I want to be clear right from the onset. I’m giving this film a “rental” score based solely on two things: the message and cleanliness of the film. With so many PG-13 films being complete trash, I was reluctantly expecting a lot more profanity, sexual content and other inappropriate behavior. Besides being relatively clean the films message of the power of love was surprisingly powerful.

However, once you get past the message and cleanliness, there is plenty to not like about Warm Bodies.

First there is the acting. Teresa Palmer is decent and Rob Corddry and John Malkovich needed more screen time. And honestly the jury is out on Nicholas Hoult. I mean, its not hard to mumble, look lifeless and stumble around.

Then there’s the story, or the lack of story. I’m not saying they needed to give us a whole back-story on the zombie apocalypse, but when they say, “it doesn’t really matter how it happened”, they’re basically telling the audience they didn’t care enough to think through some of the details. And that wasn’t the only detail that the filmmakers apparently overlooked. Sometimes the zombies can run and sometimes they can’t and we don’t get to understand why.

The biggest detail that is overlooked is explaining the difference between the “corpses” and the “bonies.” At one point R says, “the corpses eventually turn into bonies when they give up.” But the bonies are more aggressive, more active and are constantly eating (anything with a heartbeat).

I know Warm Bodies is intended for teenagers, and most teenagers won’t care about those details. What they’ll care about is the relationship between Julie and R and their relationship is fun, honest and reasonably pure.

At the end of the day it’s a lighthearted, romantic comedy that was a lot cleaner than I expected. So because of that I’m giving it a “rental.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
This is a surprisingly clean PG-13 film. There is actually no sex or nudity in the entire film. The closest it comes to being inappropriate is a scene in which Julie is sitting on the edge of a bed at night with her back to the camera, she removes her sweater and jeans and we briefly see her wearing a bra and panties (most of her bare back is seen as she slides under the covers).

There is 1 F-word, 4 S-words and a few other obscenities.

There is violence, but it is mild compared to most zombie films (including TV’s The Walking Dead).

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. In the film, what caused the zombies to turn back into humans? (Love)


2. Did you know there are four words for love mentioned in the Greek language (The New Testament was written in Greek)?

   Let’s take a moment to look at each one.

   1. Agape – Unconditional love, or the kind of love God loves us with.
   2. Phileo – This is a love that exists between close friends.
   3. Storge – This Love grows between family members.
   4. Eros – This is the word for a romantic kind of love.



3. Describe a time when you personally experienced or witnessed each kind of love listed.


4. In 1 Peter 4:8 Peter says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” What do you think Peter means when he says, “love covers over a multitude of sins”?


5. What are some things you can do this week to do a better job of loving those in your life?