Fido is a satirical look at the American family ideals of 1950s. The movie opens with a great 1950s style school scare/safety film. It's very informative. You see, space dust has caused the dead to come back to life and eat the living. But with the help of ZOMCOM and their handy services and appliances you and your family can still live the perfect everyday life in your perfect neighborhood. And your domesticated zombie servant (controlled by the ZOMCOM collar, of course) can water your perfect lawn and bring you lemonade. Zombies deliver the milk and the mail and every family on the block should have at least one. I mean what would the neighbors think if the Robinsons didn't have even one zombie?
The movie sticks to its Cold War American aesthetic throughout the movie. The colors are bright, the lawns are manicured, and from the clothes to the cars to the kid's bed sheets (which cartoonishly depict the Zombie Wars) there doesn't seem to be a detail out of place. Instead of fearing nuclear bombs or commies, the kids at school are taught to fear perimeter fence breaches by zombies or a neighbor's ZOMCOM collar going on the fritz.
When Mrs. Robinson brings home the family's first zombie, her son Timmy quickly bonds with it. He becomes a pet rather than a servant. Hence the name Fido, in case you were wondering. He protects Timmy from bullies, plays fetch, and when his collar breaks he eats a crabby old neighbor. Timmy and his mother spend the movie protecting their zombie from the powers that be while Mr. Robinson deals with his repressed zombie issues.
On the surface all of these families within the fence seem idyllic. But of course they all have their issues. When they aren't judging the guy next door for his strange relationship with his young female zombie, they are worrying about what everybody else is saying about them and their zombies. Too many topics become taboo at the dinner table and communication fizzles away. Dylan Baker, as the father who refuses to acknowledge his son's curious questions, is great. Just look at him. He was born to play a 1950s dad.
I'm sure this would be billed as a horror-comedy, but really it's just a comedy. There aren't any scares (although there is a little gore if you're the squeamish type). It doesn't try to force a message, it just presents a ludicrous situation and gets laughs by playing it straight. Even when Timmy sends his zombie to get help and it plays out like a Lassie episode, it doesn't come off as a forced joke. It fits perfectly into the 1950s cornball world they have created.
Billy Connolly plays the titular pet zombie. He does a great job of getting both laughs and sympathy when needed. When he has his collar on he is like a way more laid back version of Bub from Day of the Dead. The only downside to him playing a zombie is that we don't get to hear his awesome accent. That guy could read the ingredients off of a cereal box and I'd listen.
So, if this sounds like fun then check it out. Fido gets today's arbitrary rating of 5.8 domesticated zombies out of 7.
2 comments:
I loved this flick specifically *because* they played it straight. It seems like the compulsion towards self-referential humor is often a bit too strong with this sort of movie. They could have overdone it, but they stayed classy and let the ridiculousness speak for itself.
I sure would have loved more of Connolly yelling, though.
Agreed on both points. Let's shake hands at some point in the future.
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