Review of We Bought a Zoo (2011) by Wintersoldieram — 06 Dec 2013

At times this movie falls into the to good to be true category and at others it is to true to carry entertainment value, but despite that this movie was an impressive recount of a true story of how Benjamin Mee bought a zoo.

Let me start off by saying I have not read the real book by Benjamin Mee so I am basing my review on entertainment. The acting by both Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson were both top notch while others in the cast went over my head with there over the top antics.

The movie carries with it a more tragic aspect that (when addressed properly) tugs right on the heart strings. The films comedic aspects are sometimes out of place but at other time (citing McReady going after the inspector) they deliver a good laugh.

This movie may fall short to cynical people hoping for a darker ending but the ending itself dials down on the happily ever after aspect when Benjamin confronts his past and takes his kids to the place where he met there mother.

Although Why Not? is supposed to be a main theme in this movie it is addressed only a few times which takes away from the impact of the final line of this movie, but not enough to make it annoying or useless.

This movie suffers from some blunders and achieves in other instances, all in all it's a good wholesome movie that pushes away cynics and invites families.