We Bought a Zoo

This week my husband and I went to see We Bought a Zoo. I have had a celebrity crush on Matt Damon since Good Will Hunting, and it's no secret that my husband has a crush on Scarlett Johansson. So really it was a win win situation.

The film follows Benjamin Mee, a recently widowed father of two. While looking for a new house he finds the perfect place to start a new life with his children. The only problem? The house comes with a Zoo. Benjamin, a writer, has no knowledge of animal care taking. Enter his new colleagues. Scarlett plays Kelly Foster, the head zookeeper. Along with her motley crew of employees they have barely kept the struggling zoo afloat. Benjamin decides that they can save the zoo and so begins their adventure to get it ready for a grand opening in Summer.

The film is really wonderful. Damon's performance as the grieving Benjamin draws you in but it never gets too heavy or takes away from the enchanting storyline. I really enjoyed watching him play a father, it's a role I haven't seen him in before. His chiseled good looks from the Bourne days are softened out a bit making it a much more realistic transformation.

Scarlett does well as hardworking animal lover Foster. She and Damon have a good chemistry throughout the film but it is never laid on too thick, which I appreciated. Some films tend to force romance into a storyline that doesn't need it. This is not a romance genre film, rather it's the story of a man and his children and their journey through healing.

The animals also have their part to play in the film. There is a spectacular scene with a bear who escapes and goes on a little adventure. And then there's the beautiful tiger who is at the end of his life. Tigers are my favourite animal so any screen time dedicated to them is enjoyable to watch. And when you get a shot with Matt Damon and a tiger, well it doesn't get any better than that.

We bought a Zoo is adapted from the book of the same title, which is a memoir written by the real life Benjamin Mee. The true story obviously has a few differences from the film adaptation, eg. the real zoo is in England, not America. The film is really wonderful and I highly recommend it. Children will love it as much as adults. It's an uplifting story that reminds us that it's never too late to start an adventure.