The summer of 2011 was filled with some very AVERAGE movies, which is why I’ve gave out more “C” grades than any other. And if there was ever a film that defined AVERAGE – kinda funny, kinda clever, while at the same time, kinda dumb and kinda predictable, it’s “Zookeeper”.
Kevin James and Adam Sandler team-up again for another summer comedy. Thankfully this one is more family-friendly and has more laughs than last year’s embarrassing “Grown Ups”.
James plays Griffin Keyes, a zookeeper at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. In the opening scene his girlfriend dumps him after he proposed to her, mainly because he is a zookeeper, which is not the kind of guy she wants.
Fast-forward 5 years and Griffin is now head zookeeper and Stephanie, his old girlfriend, re-enters his life. Griffin’s brother thinks if he takes a job at his car dealership he can win her back. But the animals have a different idea. Their plan is to teach Griffin how they win-over mates so he can use their advice to get Stephanie back. And they don’t want to lose Griffin because he’s nice to them.
To get Griffin’s attention they have to break the animal code and talk to him. Initially he freaks out, but then he starts following their suggestions, which doesn’t always work-out.
A film about a zookeeper is somewhat unique, but the rest of this story is very familiar. You can see everything coming from miles away. Specifically it’s quite similar to James’ 2009 comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (which I really liked): a guy trying to get the girl who’s also devoted to his job. That movie work better because the script was much funnier and the focus was on the main character throughout. In “Zookeeper” the animals and the supporting characters get too much screen time.
Now, for the positives: The voices of the animals are perfectly cast. Sylvester Stallone plays the lion who think he knows it all. Cher plays his wife, who’s the more sensible of the two. Nick Nolte does the voice of Bernie the Gorilla. He and Griffin develop a very close friendship. And Sandler voices the monkey, who has all the best lines. I never thought I’d ever write this as a critic: the monkey needed more lines. And he’s the same monkey who appeared in “Night at the Museum”, the most recent “Indiana Jones” film, and the two “Hangover” movies. Many of the other animals in “Zookeeper” are veterans of the silver screen. The animated mouth work isn’t the greatest, and a few of the scenes go on too long, but overall the animals hold their own.
Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Donnie Walberg and Ken Jeong are also part of the live-action cast. Their performances are just o.k. James’ Griffin is likeable, but he’s also a goofball, so I’d didn’t really care if he ended-up happy at the end or not. On the plus side there aren’t as many slapstick or gross-out scenes as you’d expect from a Sandler production. There is a message about the importance of being kind to animals but also a subplot in which a worker at the zoo tortures the gorilla.
“Zookeeper” is rated PG for brief adult language and the mean tone. It’s good for kids 8 and up. Little ones will enjoy the animals but will have no interest in the romantic storyline. And adults will likely feel the same way.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Zookeeper” gets a C. It’s the ultimate Summer of 2011 “C” movie.
James and Sandler will be getting back together for 2012’s “Hotel Transylvania”, an animated movie about Count Dracula. They’ll voice a few of the characters but aren’t producing or writing. That means it’s got a chance to be much better than “Zookeeper”.