After months of dreadful previews and countless juvenile gimmicks Frank Coraci's Zookeeper is finally hitting theaters. For parents this is good. As for the rest of us its, well ... its like a kidney stone were painfully waiting to pass.
Okay, let me set the record straight: Zookeeper isn't nearly as bad as the previews make it out to be. In fact, for a young family it could be a breath of fresh air. But at the same time, the film never should have been made, mainly due a lack of uniqueness.
I felt like I had seen Kevin James' latest effort at least a million times. George of the Jungle, Old Dogs, Dr. Doolittle. They've all done the talking to animals bit before - and much better mind you. Hell, I'd be willing to sit through Breden Fraiser's Furry Vengeance again before witnessing this dynamic miscue, and that's really saying something.
At the heart of it all Zookeeper means well. But the animals look obviously fake, the jokes are absolutely ridiculous, and the ending is a cliche as one can get. If I were five or six I might find the whole concept interesting, but then many of the attempted jokes would soar over my head. There is simply no common balance between the two. And sadly, even if there were, I still don't think I'd enjoy the film enough to recommend it.
