Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones
Running time: 124 minutes
We Bought a Zoo is director Cameron Crowe’s latest film after the underwhelming Vanilla Sky and Elizabethtown, and is loosely based on a true story. This is probably his foray into family fare and while he does enough to ensure a feel good tale of loss and redemption, the film does suffer from occasional lapses into maudlin mushy territory.
The film follows the exploits of recently widowed Benjamin Mee (Damon) who is struggling to raise his teenage son Dylan (Ford) who’s having trouble at school and younger daughter Rosie (Jones).
Benjamin decides that the best way forward is to pack up and move to the boondocks for a fresh start after advice from his brother Duncan (Haden Church). He finds a rambling dream home that his daughter Rosie immediately takes a shine to only to find out that it is actually an almost defunct zoo with a menagerie of animals and zoo staff to take on board as well.
Benjamin decides to take the plunge and invests in the zoo with the intention of turning it around and reopening it to the public. But first he has to convince zoo keeper Kelly (Johansson) and her staff that his motives are honest and his intentions honourable.
The good thing about the movie is the casting of the leads and the development of their characters. Damon does a good job playing the widowed dad trying his best to give his family a nurturing environment to grow up in and this is countered well by Johansson’s zoo keeper who gradually falls for him.
Benjamin’s interactions with his kids also display some finely-nuanced acting from Damon as his tender relationship with his daughter is contrasted with his often fraught and tense conversations with his son.
Haden Church also has a number of pithy lines extolling the benefit of his experience and wisdom to his brother in the hope that he will abandon his crazy dream of reviving the zoo. The rest of the supporting cast also provides able if not spectacular support.
We Bought a Zoo is a decent film that although doesn’t always push the right buttons, does enough through the performance of its able cast, to lift the film out of mediocrity. Can be watched by the whole family with no issues with language, sex or violence. - Review by S.N.
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