By Natalie Ast
Rating: 3 out of 4
Zookeeper is fun for the entire family with Kevin James’ self-deprecating slapstick comedy and a herd of charming talking-animals.
The former “King of Queens” star plays Griffin Keyes, a zookeeper who’s perfectly happy scooping poop at the Franklin Park Zoo. Like all romantic comedies and sitcoms, the loveable and chubby protagonist is dating a bonafide babe, Stephanie (Leslie Bibb).
The film opens with Griffin proposing to Stephanie while riding horseback along the beach. His grandiose proposal was met with the expected rejection, only to be followed by a Mariachi band and heart-shaped fireworks in the sky.
Fast-forward five years later, and Griffin has gotten over the girl only to have Stephanie pop back into his life. Griffin agonizes over this and finds consolation by talking to the animals. The animals love Griffin and devise a plan to help him get the girl.
Griffin is in total disbelief at the talking zoo animals, but after the shock sets in, he starts following their advice. What follows is a series of silly, albeit hilarious attempts at winning affection that is interjected by a bromance between Griffin and Bernie (voiced by Nick Nolte), the misunderstood silverback gorilla.
The animals were voiced by an all-star cast that I didn’t realize until the credits started to roll. Cher plays the voice of a wise lioness, while Sylvester Stallone plays her mate-Joe the lion. Adam Sandler voices Donald-a monkey (played by Winson who also starred in the Hangover 2) who steals the show with his antics.
As Griffin suffers injuries and embarrassments, in typical rom-com fashion, he ignores the obvious best mate – Kate, a zoo vet (Rosario Dawson).
Although the movie was heavy on “punny” jokes and silly slapstick, a couple of scenes brought the audience to hysterical laughter. So take the kids and enjoy the arctic air-conditioning with this silly and entertaining light-hearted comedy.
Image courtesy of www.zookeeper-movie.com
