We Bought a Zoo (Spoilers!)

Okay, I know what you're thinking: why would I even waste my time on a movie that looks as cheesy as We Bought a Zoo? To be perfectly honest, I saw it because a) my girlfriend loves things with cute animals in it, and b) because Matt Damon told me to on The Daily Show. He was very upfront in explaining that it would be a good movie despite the obvious misgivings a lot of people would have, and his honesty in confronting those issues gave me enough respect for him to go see it. I'm actually glad I did.

We Bought a Zoo is based loosely on the true story of Benjamin Mee (Damon), a writer who, while coping with the death of his wife, decides to buy a rundown zoo on the edge of town and revitalize it. Accompanied by his two children, he moves on to the property and establishes a quick rapport with the employees of the zoo, strikes up a flirty relationship with the head zookeeper (Scarlett Johansson) and ultimately saves the zoo from being shut down by the mean inspector. Cut-and-dry feel-good family movie, I know.

What made We Bought a Zoo work for me was the caliber of performances I got from the actors. Matt Damon is great, and Thomas Haden Church steals all of his scenes as Benjamin's older brother Duncan. Maggie Elizabeth Jones is absurdly cute as Rosie, Benjamin's seven year old daughter, and all of the zoo employees, from ScarJo's head zookeeper to Elle Fanning as her sheltered younger cousin, are on point the entire movie. Their performances were exactly where they needed to be to keep this movie from being the absolute cheese-fest it certainly could have been.

Now, just because this isn't a complete cheese-fest doesn't mean that it's not a cheese-fest. The story is still just as cookie-cutter of a feel-good movie as you can get. Rash decision turns into an inhuman amount of work, but through love, everyone bands together and wins. Even fate smiles kindly on strong family-man, and some disasters get averted through sheer luck. I know it's based on a true story, and it's supposed to be a feel-good film, but come on.

If I was to give a one-sentence review of this movie, it's this: We Bought a Zoo is a feel-good movie you'll roll your eyes at, but it's a movie you'll enjoy rolling your eyes at. I give it 6 adorable shots of zoo animals out of 10.