Movie Quote Monday – Warm Bodies
It’s another MQM first: this movie is still in the theater. You should go see it! Right now!
You guys, I loved this movie and I’m so glad I didn’t wait for the dvd. I hadn’t planned to see it in the theater because I was sure it couldn’t be as good as the previews looked, and I hate to be disappointed. But a few people whose opinions I trust said it was awesome, so I went. And it was.
Two of those guys called Warm Bodies a Zom-Rom-Com, and I guess that’s right. The basic plot is that a zombie called R meets a girl named Julie, a girl that he just can’t kill; it’s zombie love at first sight. As R and Julie interact, R starts to change and become human again. The comedy in this movie is what I think of as quiet humor, subtle and smoothly woven into the fabric of the film rather than big jokes and gags that make you laugh out loud. I smiled most of the way through this movie – for being a zombie film, it’s sweet and charming and funny. Having said all that, while I was watching I never thought of it in terms of romantic comedy.
The powerful impression that Warm Bodies made on me is that this is a movie about being human.
In many ways it reminds me of Stranger Than Fiction, which I suppose is technically a romantic comedy. But really, both movies make huge statements about life and what it means to really live. They just wrapped it all up in a sweet and quirky romantic story, with humor and characters you can’t help but like and root for.
There were so many quotes that I could pull out of this movie, and so many topics that we could explore. Warm Bodies touches on friendship, the power of love, the importance of nurturing one another, letting go of the past, not knowing who or what we are, acceptance, redemption, and the possibility of being so far gone that your life is irredeemable. One moment that made an impression on me is how R reacts when he sees himself from a human’s perspective. I mean, what would I see if I were faced with that “truth”, with literally seeing myself through someone else’s eyes? And a big part of the movie is how the changes happening in R start spreading throughout the zombie community. R and Julie’s connection is like an anti-zombie virus. It makes you think about the power we have to effect positive change in other people’s lives.
In the end, this is the quote that stood out to me the most:
Julie: I can see you trying. That’s what people do. They do their best.
To me, that pretty much says it all. We don’t always know who we are; we don’t always see ourselves very clearly. We don’t always act in loving and accepting and nurturing ways. But there is very little – if anything – that we can’t come back from, from which we can’t be redeemed.
It’s not the end of the world if we don’t always get life “right”.
We just have to keep trying. We just have to do our best.
♦
Items of Interest:
Warm Bodies & The Meaning of Life
– Clay talks about Warm Bodies’ “complex philosophical wanderings” (while in zombie drag and eating brains)
Film Review of Warm Bodies
– JR’s overview and thoughts on Warm Bodies (with movie posters and a clip of the first 4 minutes of the film)
Warm Bodies – a (Quasi) Movie Review
– Chad sees “hints of the Gospel story” in Warm Bodies (a great analysis)
Can People Change?
– Sherideth asks 5 questions about change and redemption (interesting answers in the comments)
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steadily skipping stones 
I’m going to see it on Wednesday with my brother, it looks AWESOME! I can’t wait!
Lorna xx
I’m late to this, so you’ve seen it by now. What did you think? did you like it? I hope you did!
Haven’t seen it yet but it sounds interesting. Love the quote about keep trying and doing our best.
Me too! There were so many quotes I could have pulled out of the movie, and I was tempted to add more, but I held myself in check, haha. Bu that one is the one that really struck me the hardest, I think. If a zombie can try his best to be a better human, then so can I 🙂
The previews looked interesting and I do not usually watch zombie flicks. Now your recommendation and a comparison to Stranger than Fiction? It is now on my list to see!
Well, I hope you don’t get disappointed – it’s a zombie movie, but there is only one real zombie-ish scene, so that’s not too bad. I thought it was mostly really cute and sweet and thought provoking. I really loved it! The tone really reminded me of Stranger Than Fiction. That one is kind of low-key and quietly funny, too.
I haven’t seen this yet but remember catching Stranger than Fiction after reading your blog, and loving it! Shall try to catch this too 🙂
I’m glad you liked Stranger Than Fiction! I raved on it to someone else and when they saw it, they said it was just “good” but nothing special. I wondered if they were seeing the same movie as me, haha. This one is definitely a zombie movie, but it’s just so sweet and there are so many things it makes you think about life. I hope you like this one if you see it.
I have watched the movie twice. I may see it a third time. I can’t explain it, but Warm Bodies left such a powerful sensation of euphoria mixed with sadness, in me. I consider my self level headed, a family man, a hard worker, and I have more then my share of life experience with doing the right things and the wrong things. I have an over whelming amount of good and bad memories, and I think that is why the movie deeply moves me. I can relate very easily to the characters of R, M, Colonel Grigio, and even Julie. Every characters feelings of anger, happiness, loneliness, fear, regret, excitement, and sadness, was portrayed very well by every actor. Now, those persona’s only exist in the movie, and the actual actors are living their lives in various places doing other things now, but their talent invested in Warm Bodies, and the story itself, helped imbed that movie in my memory forever, and that makes it one of the greatest movies I have ever scene. If any of them every read this, I WANT TO SAY thank you and well done.
I saw it twice as well – and also was tempted to go again last week. I think I may go again this week, haha. I agree with you about the acting, and I was actually thinking that while I watched it the first time. I thought everyone did such a great job, and the characters were well written and very well rounded for a movie. It really is a kind of delightful movie, which feels weird to say about a zombie movie, doesn’t it? But even now, two weeks later, it keeps popping into my head at random times. Not scenes or dialogue or images, but just feelings from the movie. It’s odd.