WE BOUGHT A ZOO

    SUMMARY

From director Cameron Crowe (“Jerry Maguire”), “We Bought a Zoo” is based on a true story about a widowed father who buys a dilapidated zoo in hopes of making a fresh start.  Facing enormous odds, he and his children, along with a small but loyal staff, work to get the zoo re-opened.

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DAVE GRIFFITHS'S WE BOUGHT A ZOO REVIEW:

 We Bought A Zoo is a ‘nice’ film that simply grows on you as it continues on it’s merry way. Some will be quick to label it as a ‘simple family film’ yet it is a lot more than that. Yes, it’s friendly enough to be lapped up by a family but the film also has enough drama and suspense in it to keep even the hardened film goer happy.

Based on Benjamin Mee’s book it tells the story of how he (played by Matt Damon (Happy Foot Two, Magaret) in the film) found himself challenged after the death of his wife (Stephanie Szostak – Dinner For Schmucks, Something Fun). Mee had been a journalist who lived to face danger but even he found it hard to be a single father to his two children, Dylan (Colin Ford – All Kids Count, In My Pocket) and Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones – Footloose, Game Time: Tackling The Past). When Dylan is expelled from school Benjamin realises he needs to make a change and on a whim buys a rundown zoo that is being run by zookeeper, Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson – Iron Man 2, He’s Just Not That Into You). The race is on to now get the zoo ready in time for opening and Benjamin still faces opposition from Dylan who still isn’t happy about being at the zoo despite advances from Lily (Elle Fanning – Twixt, Super 8).

It’s good to see director, Cameron Crowe (Elizabethtown, Vanilla Sky) back at the helm of a movie, seven years has been far too long, because you feel that it is his touch (along with some class from Matt Damon) that makes We Bought A Zoo. With the story at hand this could have very easily turned into a Daytime TV Movie Snooze Fest but with Mr. Crowe in charge this actually turns out to be a pretty well-crafted movie.

Yes the little bits of comedy that have been forced into this movie, mostly by the acting performance of John Michael Higgins (Bad Teacher, TV’S Happily Divorced), in the role of the bad guy, seem completely out of place but for the most Crowe uses his well-rounded characters to his best advantage. You feel for Benjamin but you also feel for Dylan, you can see things from both their point of views), and the end of the day you want to see the zoo succeed. With Crowe’s exploration of characters such as Benjamin’s inner-most feelings this was never going to be B-Grade. And while I didn’t criticize some of the humor I must admit some of the one-liners were pretty bloody funny… well enough to make you chuckle anyway.

As usual Matt Damon puts in a good performance and its good to see Scarlett Johansson getting a chance to show her ability in a bit of a meatier role. Elle Fanning gets a chance to show off a little bit of character acting by highlighting the aloof-personality of Lily but the highlights here are the performances of Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones both of which you feel are going to turn into fine actors.

We Bought A Zoo isn't going to blow you out of your seat but it certainly won’t put you to sleep either. This is just a ‘nice’ film that proves that Cameron Crowe still has it after his long time on the bench.

RATING:- ****  (out of 5)

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