‘We Bought a Zoo’: Seeking happiness in the exotic and running out of ideas

Based on the memoirs of adventurer/journalist Benjamin Mee, the film’s incredibly idealistic spirit borders on a manic frenzy of goodness and positivity that does not seem at all possible, given the premise of the events.

For all those people who love animals (like me) and who might be excited with the prospect of watching a film about a man who buys a zoo and lives in it, this film is a disappointment. Not only does it not really care about any of the animal characters, but it also makes owning a zoo such a piece of cake that one has the tendency to be caught in false dreams about zoo-keeping.

Now, I once came upon a program on the National Geographic channel called “We Live in a Zoo,” similar to the story of Mee. It followed the daily life of a couple who gave it all up in the city and moved to the countryside to manage a forgotten zoo with a very small staff but a large number of exotic animals. Believe me, it didn’t look at all pretty, in fact the animals and the people both looked so unhappy in that chaos of unkemptness that I couldn’t stand to watch it for longer than 10 minutes.

Matt Damon, a wonderful actor, has to reduce himself here to portray a man and a father who sees life as a seminar paper sprinkled with words of wisdom and possesses an unconvincing upbeat attitude that can only belong to Hollywood characters. It has been six months since Mee lost his beautiful wife to cancer and must take care of his 13-year-old son Dylan and 7-year-old daughter Rosie by himself. Mee’s loving older brother Duncan (Thomas Haden Church), whose only purpose in the movie is to give out concerned pep talks to his younger brother, is trying to force Mee to embrace life and love again. This is something I really can’t stand in such feel-good movies: Why does everyone who’s had something bad happen to them have to be forced to just “get over it”? It’s like people don’t have a right to be unhappy.

Benjamin Mee, deep in his heart, knows that he has to provide a better life for his children, away from all the problems and personal history of their current home, so he does what every adventurer/journalist apparently does: He buys a zoo. It’s a bit far-fetched even for someone who just wants to make his children happy. Nevertheless, in this horrible economy, one wonders how Mee can afford to buy a zoo, let alone have the money to maintain the place and pay the staff. Oh but he does, and he’s so excited to be starting over…

At this point you’re wishing that at least you’ll get to see some interesting interaction between the people and the animals, but soon enough you’ll realize that such an interchange is not really something that the film is interested in. The main concern here, as you can imagine, is the focus on the healing process of the Mee family, which must learn to adapt to a new life without its angelic matriarch. It’s too bad that they have to do this in a zoo and lure in the audience with the false hopes that there are going to be some amazing moments like we see in National Geographic documentaries, whereas they could have just as well moved to Cancun or an ordinary country house.

Scarlett Johansson is the head zookeeper and eventually becomes Benjamin’s love interest. Her character is the only one of any interest; she oozes with the kind of grit you would expect from someone who has to deal with lions and tigers every day. It’s too bad that the film doesn’t take more interest in her, and it’s too bad that to make this film work she has to become the new love interest. For once, can’t we leave out the “new romantic interest” in the equation of the family comedy-drama? I guess not, for even if you’re a unique filmmaker like Cameron Crowe there are some golden rules you have to submit to for a film to be produced: the first golden rule being “rely on the formula.”

“We Bought a Zoo” is burdened with clichés and trite dialogue throughout. I truly wonder whether audiences are not yet tired of contrived tears and movies that are made on auto-pilot. But most importantly, I really feel sorry for all the animals that had to play a part in this charade of exaggerated human accomplishment, without even knowing what they had gotten themselves into.

‘We Bought a Zoo’

Directed by: Cameron Crowe

 Genre: comedy

Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett

Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Elle Fanning