Zooloco

Went to see Zookeeper last night at a charity screening for the Franklin Park Zoo and I actually had high hopes. I knew Kevin James would provide the usual frenetic, bumbling, stammering but well-intentioned physical comedy, the romantic component would be something only a Hollywood movie could conjure, and the talking/emoting animals would probably get old quick, but I hoped the combination of elements would result in a winning story. Alas, I was only partially rewarded. The animals far outshine the humans in this movie, and the TGI Friday's scene is where the animal/human connection is at its best (I never had a night like that at TGIF!), but the human story is all too familiar and the characters can only try to raise a script that fails to add anything new to the cinematic landscape. Overall a decent effort, a few chuckles, but nothing new. And two people near me commented that Ken Jeong's typically icky character was totally unnecessary for this film.

The titled character (Kevin James) learns one day that the animals at his facility can actually talk and they make it their mission to help him find love with a somewhat demented ex-flame (Leslie Bibb) while simultaneously we as an audience all know he really belongs with friendly co-worker Rosario Dawson. "Dr. Dolittle" antics for the most part as James talks to the animals with only minimally cute and memorable results. Voice characterizations led by Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, and Cher give the animals personality but really little else. James is definitely a likable comedic force, but he deserves better material. The leading ladies struggle to keep up his mild momentum and really the animals are not even needed as their appearances sometimes distract from what is going on as the plot limps along into development. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

After reading some of the unfair reviews this film has received I felt compelled to add my two cents. Yes it's a formula film, yes we've all seen it before, yes you can see the plot coming a mile away.

Honestly, I expected to hate this film... I'm not a big fan of the lead and I normally do not like these types of films, but 30 minutes in I was won over (maybe it was all the animals). This is a light-hearted family film and should be taken for what it is. If you have kids, they will absolutely love it.

The big name actors voicing the animals was a pleasant surprise and the animal animation and "acting" was very believable.

A very enjoyable film.

So maybe you hated Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Maybe you're sick of Kevin James in The King of Queens. Maybe you saw the trailer and thought, "Night at the Museum rip-off!" right after you thought, "This is a joke, right?" I will admit that I held all of these accusations against Zookeeper when I entered the theater, but one thing I've learned is that preemptive decisions to not see a comedy simply because you think you have a grudge against it is BAD BAD BAD. I can understand if people can't stand Kevin James's frenetic humor IF YOU WATCHED IT, but over 400 votes of "1 star" a week before the movie is even released shows some shameful attitudes among IMDb voters. Purposeful down-voting is never justified, and is especially a disservice to Zookeeper, which actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Roger Ebert put it best when he said: "Look, a great movie this is not. A pleasant summer entertainment it is." The moments that make an awful comedy awful are the ones when you feel like burying your face in your hands and wishing you never saw a second of this movie. You can all think of those times, I'm sure. Personally, Zookeeper NEVER gave me one of those moments. The plot was a breath of innocent fresh air and managed to keep me interested in the movie. The romantic tensions in Paul Blart: Mall Cop were ridiculously exaggerated, but in Zookeeper were quite low-key. The same goes for Kevin James's boyish, frenetic acting; James has an inherent likability about him that really carries the weight of the film. Be it puppets, animation, or real animal movement, the zoo animals were impressive as well and sported some convincing lip-dialogue sync that you wouldn't expect to find in a movie like this. With a varied cast that will keep you guessing at who voices who, the animals are the second great half of the show. This is a family film aimed at innocent, happy-go-lucky moviegoers and you know it - so if you're looking at a pleasant and light time at the theater, Zookeeper is the one to check out this weekend. But if you want the typical Hollywood explosions, then grab three extra dollars and head down to see Transformers 3 in 3D instead.

Director Frank Coraci seemed to have dumbed down his filmography, bring responsible for comedies like The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Click, all starring Adam Sandler, to relative duds like Around the World in 80 Days, and somehow Zookeeper straddles closer to being much of a miss, though it follows the standard formulaic procedure of a romantic comedy where the guy tries ever so hard to woo that girl of his dreams, only that the girl, well, is seriously not worth it.

Kevin James once again plays a self deprecating role as Griffin Keyes the titular zookeeper, and opens the film with a disastrous proposal to his girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb) who rejects him outright because of his profession. How anyone can do that is beyond me, because it's not as if it's the first day of knowing that fella, but so it goes, and painted the picture of someone after wealth and status, which according to Griffin's soon to be married brother Dave (Nat Faxon) is something a woman like Stephanie would prefer. A job offer at his brother's exotic car showroom would mean Griffin leaving a job that is his calling, and the animals of the zoo have to plot to ensure Griffin stays to care for them.

And that meant an accidental revelation that they can all speak English, fluently, and possess a keen sense of humour, sort of, spending plenty of time bickering than to come up with concrete plans to help our protagonist, and even then, offer tips more suited for the animal world, which allows for some pretty awkward moments, though firmly kept in family friendly territory. In some ways it's similar to Night at the Museum, with the museum pieces coming alive at night, and in the same vein, the animals gather in town hall like fashion when the last patron and caretaker leave the premises to partake in some idle chatter.

Voiced by recognizable folks such as Nick Nolte as the emo Gorilla Bernie who might be more suited in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Adam Sandler as Donald the Monkey Sylvester Stallone as Joe the Lion who fantasizes about being king of the jungle, Cher as the Lioness, Jon Favreau and Faizon Lowe as a pair of Bears, and Maya Rudolph as Mollie the Girraffe, and a whole host of other voices, you'd come to expect that there would be at least some wisecracking animals to liven up the mood and add to the sporadic laughter caused from a rather tired narrative, but tough luck, there was too little of that.

Instead, what we got are the usual rote narrative development where Griffin painfully tries so hard to regain the affections of someone so undeserving and shallow, though some may argue it's natural selection like in the Animal Kingdom where the mate will choose from the strongest of her suitors, with Griffin being in competition with yet another braggart ex- boyfriend (Joe Rogan) of Stephanie's. In some ways it touches upon contemporary strategies usually involving another hot woman, and Griffin's choice to induce jealousy is that of his fellow zoo co-worker Kate (Rosario Dawson), whom you can stay 10 steps ahead to know how what should be role-playing, would turn out to be.

With an ensemble such as the underused Ken Jeong as Venom the reptile house zookeeper and Donnie Wahlberg as the token keeper with a sadistic streak, both of whom should have seen more screen time, Zookeeper is what you would label as an average family entertainer, playing it very safe just like how one would view a zoo exhibit, encased behind a rigid structure that provides plenty of the same, and none of the surprises.