'We Bought A Zoo'

'We Bought A Zoo' (PG) (3 1/2 STARS)

Writers: Aline Brosh McKenna and Cameron Crowe
Director: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Patrick Fugit, Colin Ford, Elle Fanning, Angus MacFayden, Maggie Elizabeth Jones

I am stunned lately by the cold hearts of critics who just can't relax and have fun with a movie. Not every movie released in December has to be prestigious Oscar bait. There are movies that tug at your heartstrings, sometimes shamelessly, that just win you over with their charm. "We Bought A Zoo" is a return to form for writer, director Cameron Crowe and it might be corny but I bought it hook, line and sinker and I choked up a lot and loved it. Let me honor Joel Siegel here and proclaim "I Bought This Zoo!"

Part of that charm and unabashed entertainment is due to Crowe's care and heart and to a lot of charming and good performances. Matt Damon is great and very likable as Benjamin who is a widdow with a young daughter and a pre teenage boy. Ben quits his adventure writing job and is dealing with his son's dark artistic drawings and his acting out in school. Ben wants a change in his life and he looks for a new home to buy. He finds one with a lot of land but it turns out to have an old dilapidated zoo in the backyard. Half of the Zoo's staff is gone but a few are left behind looking for guidance including Kelly who is the head animal keeper.

Kelly is played by Scarlett Johansson and I haven't seen her this relaxed and glowingly beautiful since "Lost In Translation". She has an effortless grace as Kelly and she is also charming like Damon. Ben's daughter is that standard cute kid that has all these one liners but she is a winner. I didn't learn a lot about the zoo staff characters but all the actors are charming and they care about the zoo which is all I care about. Of course Ben and Kelly have a great chance to become a couple and there is an underlying sexual attraction there.

A lot of the plot is predictable but one of my rules is that a movie can still be great even if it is predictable. I know when I am being manipulated but I did tear up a few times during the movie so obviously it got to me. Cameron Crowe has got to my heart numerous times with my favorite teen movie of all time "Say Anything", "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous". I have seen "Almost Famous" about 50 times and every time I cry throughout the entire movie. Crowe knows how to get to your heart and he knows how to pull your strings but he is so great at it. A lesser talent than him could have make Zoo maudlin. Crowe's movies can make you choke up and your heart soar without you knowing it and that's why he is such a great writer and director.

"We Bought A Zoo" is not up to par with Crowe's greatest films but it is a major step up from his last "Elizabethtown". I love the acting here, the animals, Thomas Haden Church as Ben's brother and I love the film's heart and humor. Critics are lambasting it for shallow writing, characters and manipulation. Sometimes you have to go with the flow and get caught up with the story and I did here. This kind of movie is why I invented the theme of my blog. If you want to see an entertaining, charming movie that will make you laugh and maybe even cry then ignore the stuffy critics. My blog is for movie goers who don't mind having their heartstrings pulled and just want to see a good movie. This might be a guilty pleasure and people will give me hell for it but it is my guilty pleasure, maybe it will be yours.

P.S. This would be an ideal movie to take the family to and I wish the previews would promote that but there isn't a singing chipmunk in it, there is a monkey though and a lion, a tiger....