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Yes, a Benjamin Mee does exist, and indeed, he and his family purchased a zoo. The Dartmoor Zoological Park in Devon, England was established in 1968, and closed its doors in 2006. It was then bought by Mee family. In the process of making the film “We Bought a Zoo” Cameron Crowe moves its setting to Southern California, casts it with character actors, adds two romances and a villain. The end product is far too canned and not interesting enough.
Even though the film is not without its charms, the holiday season is not likely to be one of them. Matt Damon is a strong and appealing Benjamin Mee, and Scarlett Johansen, as the head of the zoo’s animal caretakers, does not seem to notice that at some stage of her life, she is meant to undergo an on-screen kiss with the protagonist. Patrick Fugit, eternally famous as the lead in Crowe’s “Almost Famous,” does make an appearance as a member of the zoo staff who goes by the name of Robin Jones. He is forever burdened with a monkey as a pet. (“What do we do to make the Robin character interesting?” “He always has a monkey on his shoulder.”)
The film begins, with Benjamin Mee still in the early stages of melancholia, following the loss of his spouse. He has two children, a son Dylan, who is mid-teens and a daughter Rosie, who is seven. Dylan gets into trouble at his school for trying to steal, and Benjamin, who makes a living as a reporter, decides it is a good idea to relocate out of the metro area and spend some time in the countryside. He comes across a beautiful home. The only problem is that the house’s real-estate agent takes too long in telling him that the house has a zoo as well.
This location used to be a privately run zoo which was closed due to financial issues and permits. Kelly Foster (Johansson) takes care of the animals with the assistance of Peter (Angus Macfadyen), a Scottish man who smokes a pipe, and her teenage niece, Lily (Elle Fanning), who does know that at some point she will have to kiss Dylan in this story.
Benjamin’s sibling, Duncan (Thomas Haden Church) works as an accountant, and he is very eager to tell Ben how he shouldn’t purchase a zoo. That’s a job well done for an accountant. How often has my own accountant begged me, “Roger, please do not buy a zoo”?
Kelly, who bears a striking resemblance to scarlett johanson, is indeed a great looking woman, but in this case, she is all about business and working towards the best interests of the animals. She is able to grasp that Benjamin has a significant amount of education to complete. Some of the first things they argue about is regarding Spar, an elderly Bengal tiger who is severely depressed. (So would we all be, if we had to spend 16 years by ourselves in an efficiency apartment). Should Spar be euthanized? Ben and Kelly have a heated ethical discussion on the subject.
The villain is played by John Michael Higgins, an uptight animal control officer Walter Ferris who has particular animal husbanding and housing standards that he enforces with bigotry. This caused Walter to have a disdainful character. At one point, he does threaten to not grant the place a license if its fences do not meet an inch compliance. He provides the writers, Aline Brosh McKenna, and Crowe himself with a character that they can use to set up the border of a multitude of crises and deadlines within which Benjamin and his crew, the staff, have to start pulling together. The rest of these kids is loving the animals so that Dylan slowly starts to soften up and appreciate the zoo.
You’d expect a movie like this to appeal to people who like animals. In actuality, not especially. Most of the animals are dealt with like, well, animals in a zoo, held behind bars. In one scene, some snakes slide closer for a round of astonishingly huge venomous snakes that appears to be utterly ridiculous.
When watching “We Bought a Zoo”, I started to think about the movie “The Descendants.” In both movies, the fathers have lost their spouses and are left to take care of two children approximately the same ages. Each of these has major star casts and revolves around critical decisions in life. One has a zoo, and the other has Hawaii as a supporting character. “The Descendants” is getting some of the best reviews of the year, whereas for “We Bought a Zoo”, it is the opposite. I appreciate Cameron Crowe’s wonderful films but this one pieces too easily, has a too predictable plot, and there is very little real energy between the characters. It is pitched at a lower level of ambition.
In this case, “We Bought a Zoo” is much more predictable which is why it is receiving more and more criticism.
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