MOVIE REVIEW:
SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE
KATE THE GEEKY REDHEAD 06-NOV-2015 I was eager to see Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse from the first time I saw a trailer. You have to understand: I love bad movies. I love movies that know they are bad. I love laughing at them, I love laughing with them, I love picking them apart and trying to find ways that the plot could somehow make sense. So the trailer dropped, I was understandably excited. And a bit nervous. I knew nothing of the cast, I rarely do, going in. What I knew was that it was likely going to be hilariously horrible movie about some boy scouts finding themselves among zombies.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead!
Right out of the gate, I want to say that if you don’t share my love for horrible movies, you are probably not going to like this movie. The acting from our lead three scouts isn’t horrible, but it isn’t going to bring home an Oscar. The overall best performance was probably David Koechner as the Scout leader.
Let’s also throw it out on the table: This is not a feminist friendly movie. It fails the Bechdel test horribly. While I will grant that, for the most of the movie, it’s just the boys and one woman surviving, I don’t believe two women ever speak to each other at all let alone about something other than men. Even when they were in the same car together. That was fairly odd. The most unbelievable aspect of a fairly outlandish movie was that a 20-something grown woman would take time in the middle of a zombie apocalypse to give a 16-year-old kissing lessons and care about his approval. I will give points to the main lead for, when the plot required him to search a woman’s room, refusing to go through her underwear instead of the more typical “OMG YAY PANTIES” response I would have expected to see.
So… with all that out of the way… It was hilarious. It was bad and it knew it was bad. Scouts Guide owned its horribleness in a way that made me reel with laughter. This isn’t a movie that broke new ground. Other than the above issues, I loved Denise and her competency in survival. Would have been nice if the movie had skipped the ‘stripper with issues’ shtick though. While no one actually mocked sex workers, her references to it and her background buy into the ‘women only turn to sex resort if they are troubled/last resort’ stigma. The three scouts themselves begin the movie struggling with something that most folks struggle with at some point in their lives: when to break off from a group activity that they no longer find fun but don’t want to leave dear friends behind or hurt their feelings. At one point, one of the scouts talks to another about a family loss and it’s nice to see supportive friendships portrayed. Even if it is in a goofy, silly movie. Perhaps especially in a goofy silly movie.
At the end of the day, I would say that one’s enjoyment of the movie is going to boil down to how much the above issues will trigger you vs. how much you love incredibly dumb movies. For me, these issues did pull me out of the plot several times, but the jokes and antics were able to pull me back in. It was an overall enjoyable movie. I wouldn’t pay full price to go see it at a theater, but I can certainly see myself grabbing a copy in the discount bin and watching it with friends.
This is a movie where I would love to get into more specifics but I don’t want to spoil anything more than I already have since I do think it’s worth seeing.
Kate Foil is in her early 30s, loves animals, history, comics, tea and anything whimsical.