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Critics Consensus: We Bought a Zoo is a transparently cloying effort by director Cameron Crowe, but Matt Damon makes for a sympathetic central character.
Critic Consensus: We Bought a Zoo is a transparently cloying effort by director Cameron Crowe, but Matt Damon makes for a sympathetic central character.
All Critics (164) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (106) | Rotten (58) | DVD (5)
It's an easy-going, likable film.
Crowe, to his credit, is more concerned with insights about family than romance - and some of these are heart-on-sleeve touching if you've got a sweet tooth for the stickier stuff.
Nothing that happens in this movie is in the least surprising, but it's all quite pleasant and even, at times, moving.
The movie has animals, kids and fine acting from Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, but it lacks the emotional honesty and unpredictability that made Crowe's early films so irresistible.
Damon and Colin Ford as his teen son have an affecting hesitancy, their hearts hovering between the living and the dead.
The picture annoys you, but it also wrings happy tears, because Crowe pulls at your heartstrings in crafty ways.
The result is something that's hard to buy on almost every level.
Memo to Cameron Crowe: You can't just put a cute kid in a movie and think that's enough to sell the audience on it.
As it stands, the animals may be restored to their former glory at Rosemoor, but the humans deserve better.
Crowe seems unable to layer up the story's sentimentalism with anything subtler than an industrial dumper truck.
Everything is, indeed, tied up exactly the way you know it will be tied up, because it is that sort of film, but it still provides a perfectly agreeable way to spend the two hours you weren't going to do anything with anyway.
Unlike frenetic movies focused on the next laugh, this tender film does not aim at children and hope to bring adults along. Rather, it offers something for each member of the family, blending a sad but ultimately hopeful storyline and some cute animals.
Cameron Crowe aims for the Disney audience with this obvious-as-a-grammar school play crowd pleasing story about a single dad trying to raise his coming of age difficult children. I've actually given the whole film away by now except for the cute animal instagrams spread throughout. It was interesting to see Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson cover more down to earth material than the fantasy that is so prevalent nowadays, and both actors seem to warm to the presentation as well. One aspect Crowe nails is how aggravating teens are to everyone, quite without the artifice of most productions.
Super Reviewer
Let's be honest, Crowe's older films had much more energy, honesty and unpredictability. Here, you know immediately what you are getting, and you are getting a lot of it. Family drama, cute animal humor, romance, and the notion that hard work can make you achieve anything. That's naive and sometimes even a bit annoying. And yet the film ends of engaging you after all, because of the likable characters and Crowe's instinct to use the right song for the right scene. By the wonderful ending the film has won you over and you can't help but sit there with a bug stupid grin on your face. It then adds a real tear-jerker of a final scene that gives it all more depth than you got for two hours before that. Quite a feat.
I've always enjoyed Cameron Crowe's work; he has a nice touch that brings a unique viewing experience. With We Bought a Zoo, he crafts a fun little film that does show limitations and could have been a bit better considering the premise of the film. Despite this, this is a fun little film that has heart and is among Cameron Crowe's best in several years. Crowe has always had a good eye for what makes for a fun crowd pleaser, and though this is far from perfect, he manages to deliver a film that should appeal to the entire family. There are parts that could have been reworked a bit, but overall this film works well enough to be worth seeing. With that said, the film is a heartwarming drama that really is well acted and is truly terrific. Acting wise, there are some very good performances and Matt Damon really delivers something special here. This is an underrated film that is fun from start to finish. I very much enjoyed watching this, and I felt it had enough elements to make this a worthwhile feel good movie. Cameron Crowe knows how to create something special and he captures a wonderful story. With a great cast, great acting and an interesting plot, We Bought a Zoo overcomes its imperfections to really bring out a very well crafted drama. Expect a wonderful film and don't believe the flack the film has received because it is a true life story that is simply engaging and memorable.
This was okay to watch once. Drags on a bit, but story is nice and cast are good.
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