'We Bought a Zoo': Wholesome and Family Oriented

★★★☆☆
Rated PG

Benjamin Mee is a grieving widower trying to do his best to raise his 14 year-old son Dylan and his seven year-old daughter Rosie. A self-proclaimed "adventure addict," Benjamin is a reporter who has never turned away from an outlandish story. That, of course, conveniently sets up the plot for him to actually buy a zoo (It's not just a fancy title!) despite having no experience whatsoever with animals in Cameron Crowe's (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) latest film, We Bought a Zoo. Based on a book written by a man in England who lived this very real adventure, We Bought a Zoo is wholesome and rather heart-wrenching, if a little too tidy and predictable.

Benjamin is played by Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, The Informant!), who does his best to be the earnest-yet-struggling father for this role. He is teetering on despair after losing his wife six months earlier, watching his son Dylan (Colin Ford: Push and Jack and the Beanstalk) spiral into a dark despondency, and fumbling helplessly at raising both of his kids, even the ultra-adorable and agreeable Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones: Footloose). He abruptly quits his reporting job, sells the family's home in Los Angeles, and buys a piece of property outside the city that is the setting for a beautiful old home-as well as a defunct zoo, all of its animals, and the staff of workers who maintain it. Benjamin figures that the light he sees in his daughter's eyes while feeding the peacocks and the chance to take his son away from his many troubles are reasons as good as any to purchase the property and all of the many unique-and expensive-challenges owning and maintaining a zoo entails. He sees it as something new for them all and imagines that it's just what they need despite the pleas against it that his accountant brother Duncan (played by Thomas Haden Church of Sideways and Spider Man 3) and Dylan provide.

Upon arriving at its new home/zoo, the Mee family meets the crew of men and women who work at the zoo and tend to the animals. The head zookeeper is Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson: Lost in Translation and The Other Boleyn Girl), a young woman dedicated to her job and a bit skeptical of the zoo's new owner. Also on staff are Peter MacCready (Angus Macfadyen: Braveheart and Saw III), Robin Jones (Patrick Fugit: Almost Famous and Saved!), and Kelly's niece Lily (Elle Fanning: Super 8). Johansson's Kelly provides the help that the fledgling zoo owner needs, as well as friendship and the possible hint of a future romance. MacCready and Jones provide some of the light comedy that the film offers, with MacCready battling to control the rage he feels for an old foe who just happens to be the zoo inspector and Jones walking around with a monkey forever attached to his shoulder. And not surprisingly, the ever-sweet Lily is just what the brooding Dylan needs to start to come out of his dark shell.

There are poignant scenes throughout the film revolving around the deceased Mee matriarch and the hurt that has been left behind in her place. Both children are struggling to work through their grief in their own ways and need their father to help them with the overwhelming process of it, but Benjamin struggles to as he has yet to fully work through his own suffering. The zoo works handily to distract Benjamin, help Rosie discover new life, and allow Dylan to move past the dark side of death. There is even an old Bengal tiger whose suffering and need to not hurt any longer serves as a cathartic experience for the entire family.

Overall, We Bought a Zoo is an enjoyable experience for moviegoers. The acting by Damon, the kids, and the many others who make up this tale of hurt and healing is well done, but the storyline is predictable and maybe even a little too heavy-handed when doling out the tear-producing lines and scenes that are always right around the corner.

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