Review! We Bought A Zoo

 We Bought A Zoo is loosely based on the true story of Benjamin Mee who bought a zoo with his family in the UK and restored it. In this tale, Mee, played by Matt Damon, is a newspaper reporter recently widowed and struggling as the single parent of Dylan (Colin Ford) and Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). He abruptly decides to move for a change of scenery and ends up falling for a property that just so happens to host a dilapidated zoo. He sparks a friendship with the zookeeper Kelly (Scarlett Johannson) as she encourages him to not give up on this major restoration project.

Where this movie strives is in its performances. Matt Damon holds this movie up as a strong and empathetic lead. He perfectly captures the intensity of mourning and even in scenes that are lackluster, makes them that much better. Johannson gives the film a little punch as she interacts with the animals and forwardly flirts with Damon. Thomas Haden Church is what really adds the humor in this movie as Mee’s brother. He constantly jabs at how ridiculous Mee is for taking on this zoo, reflecting what I was thinking as an audience member. 

As far as content, I feel this movie suffers under way too much sentimentality. Many of the scenes work quite well, but the movie lays it on thick with almost every scene having something heavy or sappy involved. The few scenes that break away from this are the ones I enjoyed the most, such as the somewhat hokey, but amusing visits from a dubious zoo inspector that are more light-hearted. 

A little too many scenes are glazed with Hollywood tripes, such as Mee quitting his job on a whim. A single father would never do this in real life over something as small as being forced to write a blog instead of his usual print article. Also, the fact that everything coming out of little Rosie’s mouth being a provocative and emotional question or comment. She never just says something usual, it’s always precocious. Dylan is your typical angsty son with a chip on his shoulder against his dad. He meets Kelly’s niece Lily (Elle Fanning) who immediately takes a liking to him, and they have a story arc that while cute, also resembles one of those cheesy cards with little kids kissing in them while dressed in adult’s clothing. The score is composed by Sigur Rós front man Jónsi, who already is known for making some of the most emotionally evocative music. While it is fitting in this context, it also just layers on the cheese.  
While there is a lot to roll your eyes at in this predictable movie, it doesn’t completely fail. It exceeded my mostly low expectations, but it’s not really the best indicator that the most you can say about a movie is that you didn’t hate it. We Bought A Zoo is just another film in the line of hit-or-miss works by Cameron Crowe. You could take it, but you might as well leave it. Also, beware parents of little kids, they spoil the fact that the easter bunny is fake, something pretty awkward for a movie labeled as a family film.