Though audiences will probably respond favorably to We Bought a Zoo's inherent decency and kindness, the film doesn't come close to redeeming Crowe as an artist. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is a mix of mugging and half-baked character tics rather than three-dimensional personalities. It reminds you of how appealing an actress she can be. Johansson surprises as well, taking an underdeveloped character and creating something approaching lifelike. Damon, in particular, breathes life into his role, and turns a potentially maudlin recounting of the first time he met his wife into something quite moving. From attending to a depressed grizzly bear to allowing an aging tiger to die with dignity to Ben's efforts to recover from the loss of his wife, We Bought a Zoo may frequently be graceless in the way it tugs on your heartstrings but there's an undeniable sweetness on display. How much you like what they're doing depends on how much of a sap you are. It doesn't help that McKenna's characters practically tell the audience that their desire to rehabilitate the broken-down zoo is a metaphor for their own need to heal, but Crowe and Damon do their best to keep things gentle and open-hearted. Of course, it helps that the head veterinarian is the fetching Kelly (Scarlett Johansson). But see, Ben didn't just buy a zoo, he bought the family that comes with it - an eclectic staff that lives on site. Despite warnings from his older brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church), Ben decides it's just what his wounded family needs (because, you know, Rosie adores the peacocks) and jumps right in. And the owner must assume responsibility for the facilities and its nearly 200 animals. But there's a catch: It's really a zoo - the Rosemoor Animal Park. Tragedy's toll inspires him to quit his job and move to the perfect country home.
Loosely based on a true story, thrill-seeking journalist Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) struggles to cope with the death of his life and care for his two grieving kids - troubled teenage Dylan (Colin Ford) and cutie-pie seven-year-old Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). And her cartoonishly obvious writing really shines through here with its cardboard characters, on-the-nose dialogue and unearned emotions. Unfortunately, Crowe, directing his first film in six years after a pair of flops ( Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown), is saddled with a script predominantly penned by screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna, who has a long résumé of aggressively bland and sloppily contrived comedies ( 27 Dresses, I Don't Know How She Does It, Laws of Attraction). Films like Jerry McGuire and Say Anything deserved the accolades. Crowe has a sincere, unapologetically sentimental approach that knows when to indulge and when to keep it human.
Which isn't to say We Bought a Zoo didn't have potential. Given its kids-grieving, dead-mom subject matter, getting me to squeeze out a few tears is low-hanging fruit. So, it's no achievement to say Cameron Crowe's low-key, family-friendly tearjerker got to me. But being vulnerable to having your emotional buttons pushed doesn't necessarily mean you can't appreciate (or resent) the manner in which you are being manipulated. At a recent screening, one of my colleagues was surprised to discover how easily I tear up at films - hardly what some expect from a hardened film critic.
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