...and they all lived so happily ever after, that this based-on-a-true-story movie makes The Blind Side look like a gritty documentary. To criticise We Bought A Zoo would be like kicking a puppy, as everything about it is so determined to play for the feel-good factor, but in this respect it succeeds admirably. The stock ingredients are lined up - widowed father, his concerned brother, cute younger daughter, angst-ridden teenage son, ailing aged tiger, funny monkey (!) - yet everyone plays it with such sunny sincerity that even the occasional glimpse of credible drama or something darker does not hold up the story too much. Matt Damon makes a great everyman, Scarlett Johansson brings warmth to the limited role of dedicated zookeeper, the children are surprisingly effective, and in spite of an overwhelming sense of secure blandness, Cameron Crowe does bring a couple of inventively-staged sequences involving the deceased mother. As is typical with Crowe's films, the soundtrack is well chosen, and Jonsi provides an interesting score. Life metaphors are ladled on thickly, and when the father says, "I know exactly how this plays out," you know how he feels. Nevertheless, We Bought A Zoo is pleasant, predictable and good-natured, and be warned, it saves a killer tear-jerker for the final frames.
No comments:
Post a Comment