Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, John Michael Higgins
Certificate: PG
Running Time: 118 minutes
Extras: It’s A Zoo featurette, Deleted & Extended Scenes, Gag Reel, We Shot A Zoo – Featurette about the making of the film, Their Happy is Too Loud – Featurette about the music in the film, The Real Mee – Featurette with the real Benjamin Mee, Gallery by Still Photographer Neal Preston, Easter Egg: Elle’s First Screen Kiss, Audio Commentary with Director Cameron Crowe, Actor JB Smoove and Editor Mark Livolsi, Theatrical Trailer
Cameron Crowe as a director that is the antithesis of consistency; he has made the sublime – JERRY MAGUIRE (1996) and ALMOST FAMOUS (2000) – to the ridiculous. Following the mauling (animal pun) that the critics gave ELIZABETHTOWN Crowe took a Hollywood sabbatical, producing two documentaries in the six years between that and his newest feature, WE BOUGHT A ZOO.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO is based on the true story of Benjamin Mee (Damon), who after losing his wife moves himself and his two troubled children (Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones) to a Southtern California zoo. Here he meets all of the zoo’s staff including Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit, Angus Macfayden and Elle Fanning as he aims to reopen the zoo. Of course, there is a villain of the piece – Walter Ferris (John Michael Higgins) who is determined to kill the dream and, in the process, the zoo.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO does everything you think it will. In movie terms, it’s the safest of the safe, and reaches into your throat and tugs at those heart strings. It will maybe even make you feel a little nauseous; but that being said, there is also much to like. Matt Damon is predictably solid, Johansson gives arguably her best performance since THE PRESTIGE (2006) and the children are tremendous. But this is to be expected – Cameron Crowe has always been able to draw greatness from actors. After all, he got Cuba Gooding Jr an Oscar. His struggles are often with structure and pacing – VANILLA SKY for example is a big jumbled mess – but with WE BOUGHT A ZOO he has made arguably the most consistent film of his career; the real masterstroke of this film is a very small role and one that could have been hideously over played, William Ferris the zoo inspector. In this part John Michael Higgins is tremendous, being the right side of ham-fisted and humorous and delivering the level of menace that the very twee film requires. Twee – now that is definitely a word that emphasises what WE BOUGHT A ZOO is all about, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing as the film has a massive heart and succeeds on every level emotionally (by the bucket load). Yes the very end is a bit much, but it’s a feel-good film that delivers and I’m not ashamed to say I loved it. An additional note must be made on the soundtrack, something Crowe always excels in. Here he doesn’t disappoint, as Jonsi, Sigur Ros and Bon Iver all make an appearance and perfectly matching the mood of the film. WE BOUGHT A ZOO is a film to be taken with a pinch of salt – if you take the film seriously it will undoubtedly annoy you with its general feel but if you let yourself enjoy it the rewards are there.
Extras: Only the It’s A Zoo featurette was available but it’s a very nice look at the making of the film and how the cast found working with the animals, it also proves John Michael Higgins is a bit of a legend.
WE BOUGHT A ZOO is released on Blu-ray and DVD 16th July.
