Happy holidays everyone, I’m you friendly local movie reviewer, TheCinemaChick. I won’t say where I’m local, but I’m fairly popular in the UK and Russia
I’ll admit, this wasn’t one I was dying to see but it did have my curiosity peaked. It stars Matt Damon and Scarlet Johanssen. There are some interesting characters throughout the film which made it a little more bearable. For instance, Patrick Fugit has a minor role. Most people won’t know who he is, but he’s done some incredible work. Check him out in White Oleander or Wristcutters: A Love Story. The latter film sounds morbid, but it’s fairly interesting. I would recommend that very much.
We Bought a Zoo wasn’t the most entertaining or exciting film. It was cute, but far from making my top eleven favorites list. The main plot is about Benjamin Mee, who buys a house that has a zoo on the property. He spends the movie renovating the zoo so it can be opened in time for summer. Then we have the subplot. He’s also a single father who’s raising a fourteen year old son and a seven year old daughter after their mother dies six months before the movie begins. It’s never really explained how she died, but they keep mentioning her. But wait, there’s still two more plots to go. There’s two love stories, one with the son and one with Benjamin
I mean, the movie wasn’t bad by any means, it just isn’t my cup of coffee. One thing that irked me to no end was this is being promoted as a family film.
DO NOT take small children to see this. Teenagers and above, sure, go ahead and see it but there is some foul language that I was shocked to hear. To make things worse, some if it is said by the fourteen year old and seven year old. I’m sorry, but when I was that age, if I used words like that, my parents either grounded me or used soap in my mouth. Maybe times have seriously changed since then, but I don’t think children should even hear their parents use them. I’ll admit to slipping up and uttering a swear word, but never around children or family.
Also, the movie is fairly long, about two and a half hours. The sad thing is, it feels that long. I was never truly sucked in but that might have been because of the noisy family behind me. Small rant: don’t let your children roam the theater unaccompanied, then have them return and ask in a very loud voice “What happened?” I’m sorry, but if you were sitting quietly and watching the film like the rest of us, you’d know what’s going on.
So despite all that, I did like it. I shows the struggles of a family coping with the loss of a parent while trying to maintain a sense of normality. No family is perfect and they do have issues to work out. Once Benjamin realizes his own mistakes, he is able to reach out to his son. When forced to make a choice about the life of an elderly tiger, he is forced to confront his own problems with mortality.
There is also one message that I loved. The son asks the father for advice about girls to which he says (basically, not word for word): “All you need is twenty seconds of courage to embarrass and humiliate yourself.” If you think about it, he’s right. Sometimes, speaking the truth is embarrassing and humiliating, but it’s better to get it out there than to keep it inside or lie. If I had twenty seconds to be courageous…wow, there’s so much I’d want to say. I’d tell this one guy how I felt about him (and that’s not implying I have feelings for him. I would tell him off.) I would stand outside and confess that I don’t agree with how being beautiful shouldn’t not depend on weight or physical appearance.
I do recommend We Bought a Zoo. While it’s not the best thing I’ve ever seen, it’s still really good. It sends a good message which so few movies do lately. Like I said, this one isn’t for the kiddies due to the coarse language. It’s cute, it has some awesome animals in it and it deals with things that happen to regular people. And what’s strange is that there is no objectionable content other than the swearing. It’s really a shame. This film could have been a great holiday family film. Instead, check out The Adventures of TinTin or The Muppets if it’s still playing near you.
Matt Damon does his best but man, he looks so old. Something about the movie made him look aged. True, I am overlooking the aspect of makeup and special effects but he looks almost fifty in this film. I’ll also admit that this is based off a book, which I haven’t read. I didn’t know this was a book until I saw the movie. I’m not in a huge rush to read this, so if someone else has, let me know if I should pick it up.
If I had to give We Bought a Zoo a grade, it would be a B-. Not bad, not good, just meh. It’s good but mostly forgettable.
I’m TheCinemaChick and every time you recommend me to a friend, a penguin gets his fish.
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