Dir. Frank Coraci, USA, 2011, 102 mins
Cast: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong, Donnie Wahlberg, Nick Nolte (voice), Adam Sandler (voice), Sylvester Stallone (voice), Cher (voice), Judd Apatow (voice), Jon Favreau (voice)
Review by Simona Gauri
Man’s mind – and heart – is a mystery to many women. The story of Zookeeper is a good example of man’s blindness and retarded thinking in love affairs, made appealing by a funny, light, romantic treatment.
It starts off as romantic as could be. A man and a woman intertwined in a tender embrace on the saddle of a white horse, the waves slowly caressing the sand of a beautiful beach, and the pink tinged sky framing the whole dreamy picture. Out of his pocket he slides a small velvet box, opens it, and asks her to marry him. She stares at him in astonishment and says “No.”.
And that’s the end of the love story of Griffin Keyes (James), a stout, good natured zookeeper, who treats animals like human friends, and Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), every American guy’s stereotypical dream-girl – golden hair, thin and curvy – and amazingly shallow.
Five years later, Griffin’s heart is still broken. He is dedicating his life to the animals in the zoo, working in a team with skilled vet Kate (Rosario Dawson), a hearty, ironic, dedicated and – last but not least – beautiful woman. Griffin though doesn’t seem to notice Kate’s interest in him, despite their shared commitment and passion for animal care and the fact that they have lot of fun together.
One night, during a party at the zoo Stephanie turns up again, appearing to have had a change of heart and wanting to start dating Griffin again. The animals at the zoo overhear her intentions and determine to help their beloved human friend find love and happiness with her. But just when everything seems to be going well, Stephanie’s ex boyfriend comes back on the scene and the poor little airhead gets all confused and starts dating him again.
That’s when Giraffe, Monkey, Elephant, two Bears and the Lions decide to break their “code of silence” and, voiced by a team of celebrity actors, give Griffin the benefit of their advice and help him conquer Stephanie’s heart. It’s the beginning of a funny series of misadventures, as Griffin persuades Kate to pose as his new girlfriend to make Stephanie jealous, while failing to realise that he’s courting the wrong girl and that Kate is the perfect match for him. There are more twists to the tale, when Stephanie persuades Kevin to give up the job he loves, desert his animal friends and go for a money making career in her brother’s business. Will he allow her to change him or will the silly man (who’s not exactly every girl’s dream lover to start with) eventually see the light, go back to the animals he loves and indeed, finally realise who is the right girl for him? This is a romantic comedy, so no prizes for guessing.
It all makes for an entertaining and funny movie, which is tailor made for kids and animal lovers and highly enjoyable, thanks to a good, rocking soundtrack from Motley Crue, sharp writing and first-rate guest stars voicing the animal characters. It is though packed with male chauvinist clichés. So just think about that when you take your kids to see it.
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