Lisa Schwarzbaum on Warm Bodies

Liza Schwarzbaum starts off her brief review of Warm Bodies for Entertainment Weekly by comparing it to the ever-popular Twilight. I'm sure the two films have been compared time and time again, but Schwarzbaum does it in an interesting way. Many critics would cringe and belabor all that is wrong with the world while claiming it is a direct result of Twilight and its many derivatives. Schwarzbaum merely pokes gentle fun at the concept of "young dead boys...emo enough not to devour the girls they love" being a sort of new form of chivalry for Generation X.
Comparing it to Twilight may turn some viewers off (myself included), but Schwarzbaum paints this "zomb-rom-com" in an appealing light. She applauds the film for its ability to mock the genre and audience while still managing to be light and humorous; not scathing (or annoying like too many recent parody movies). Unlike other movies that were made strictly to parody and cash in on a goldmine genre, Warm Bodies actually has a coherent and seemingly interesting plot. Schwarzbaum comments that this movie was targeted towards both those who love Twilight and would like to see it reimagined, and those that hate it and would like to see it made fun of. That alone makes me want to see what this movie has to offer (well, that and the fact that Dave Franco is in this---hello!).
Schwarzbaum doesn't comment on the acting in general, preferring not to focus on the negatives or shortcomings. Instead she gives praise only to the performances which she thought were especially fun to watch and kept the movie interesting. These performances include Hoult, Coddry, Tipton, and of course John Malkovich (who should be another incentive to get you interested in watching the movie, although probably for different reasons than Dave Franco).
After reading her review, I feel I have a concept of how the movie feels. Schwarzbaum doesn't make it seem like a must-see masterpiece that will define an era, but she makes it sound fun and worth a few bucks and a few hours. This review does the job of piquing my interest in a film which I previously would have rolled my eyes at, perhaps judging it without giving it a fair chance. Now I'm looking forward to watching it.