Review of Zookeeper (2011) by James D — 13 Apr 2013

If it has the "Happy Madison" label on it, I'm going to watch it, even if this is probably one of those scripts that was intended for Chris Farley and ends up in the hands of his wannabe Kevin James.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking anything away from James, I like his acting, and I loved him in "The King of Queens," but its really hard to duplicate what Farley did, and it can't be done.

With an animal cast that has great voices as well, some including Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Nolte, and a human supporting cast of Rosario Dawson, Ken Jeong, and Donnie Wahlberg, the movie is a pleasant surprise and does a lot better then reviewers say and what everyone expected out of the film.

A simple juvenile story, that is easy to guess at the outcome, but a good one at that. It has a good meaningful story, good gags and jokes for adults, and probably more than for kids. But, you almost sort of expect that in a "Happy Madison" production.

I give Kevin James props though, the guy is going to become a steady actor in the comedy business, just don't go into his movies expecting to see Farley comedy, because you aren't going to get enough of it, but he does well trying.

3/5 JD.