Starring: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong, Donnie Wahlberg, Joe Rogan, Nat Faxon, Nick Nolte, Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Judd Apatow, Jon Faveau, Faizon Love, Maya Rudolph, Bass Rutten, and more…
Directed by: Frank Coraci Story by: Jay Scherick and David Ronn Script by: Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick and David Ronn Original Music by: Rupert Gregson-Williams
Premise: Five years after being dumped for being a zookeeper, Griffin Keyes gets a second chance to win his lady love when she shows up at a party held at the zoo. But not feeling confident, he’ll be offered help from an unexpected source – the zoo animals.
Review: The film had several funny moments, but that was about it. The presentation of the animals was nicely done. They did it so well that occasionally you forgot they couldn’t really talk. So that was great for the suspension of disbelief. Kudos on that side of things.
There are a couple of sub story lines that added some nice unexpected depth to the film. Kevin James is very likable and sells it very well. The animals themselves were a hoot, most of them with quirky personalities.
The TGI Friday’s sequence was the best part of the movie. With the wedding party the second best section.
The movie was entertaining, but nothing extraordinary. The ending set up was typical, and somewhat unbelievable as people can’t just quit their jobs and come back, plus the issue of fronted airfare, stolen vehicles, and more gave it a deep sour note. Especially since they’re totally overlooked and we do the cliched six months after immediately after resolution. So while it does end up happily ever after, they didn’t work that bit enough so it fell a little flat.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5 (Hubby say’s Would Have Been Better as Matinee.)
