Movie Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)

The Great Gatsby (2013)
142 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgarton, Carey Mulligan

Grade: B-

–

It’s a tricky thing to adapt a beloved book, and in this case an absolute classic, to the screen because let’s face it, expectations are insanely high and the only place to go is down. So how does Baz Luhrmann tackle the big project? He makes it bigger, louder, and grander than the book possibly could’ve imagined. His style breathes through almost every frame full of glitter and glamor. But there’s a moment when all of the shining lights and the sparkling dresses leave and the story takes center stage, and we’re reminded at what a remarkable story it is.

During the jazz age of the ’20s, we’re introduced to Nick Carraway (Maguire) who is speaking with a therapist due to his recent battle with depression and violent outbursts. While this isn’t in the novel, it provides us a reason for why Nick is narrating throughout. Then we’re introduced to the world that Luhrmann has created for us. A wildly exciting one for those East Egg and West Egg folk with money, and a deeply grim one for those who don’t.

The first half hour is bland, as if Luhrmann is barely amused with the importance of separating the new and old money, or establishing the connections between Nick, Daisy, and Tom Buchanon. There’s no doubt that Luhrmann couldn’t wait to provide his take on what Gatsby’s legendary parties would feel like, and he knocks it out of the park. There is music, dozens of dancers, flowing alcohol from every inch of his land, a pool cluttered with attractive people, waiters serving food and beverages, performances, tuxedos and dresses. But the question is, who is Gatsby?

Enters Leonardo DiCaprio, who gives a great performance (doesn’t he always?) as Jay Gatsby, an incredibly wealthy man with a secretive past who dreams of holding on to the past as much as he imagines the future. He is a handsome and charming man who has his eyes on only one person, the love of his life Daisy. He is a dreamer that wasn’t afraid to change his image to change the person he was supposed to be. But now he wants her back, except there are big obstacles standing in his way.

There are many things that The Great Gatsby doesn’t do right. For instance, the portrayal of Daisy played by Carey Mulligan. It is by far not her fault, as she is a fine actor and has proven it from her past accomplishments. But here, Daisy is a soft, almost emotionless woman who is quick to decide but not firm to give reason. She’s not the childish girl who locks her emotions inside herself, allowing her heart to be split from her head. And then there’s Nick Carraway narrating the movie during moments we really don’t need narration. Maguire, another fine actor, is wasted as Nick because he’s just a pawn in Luhrmann’s world.

But when everything is over, it’s an incredibly enjoyable film. The Great Gatsby isn’t great, but it’s full of energy and lively spirits to fulfill all of our senses. It’s an interpretation that creates a different form of art from the literature. We get a love story and it’s one that we are interested in, solely because of DiCaprio’s performance. Whether it’s liked or not, when tackling enormous expectations, Luhrmann could’ve done a lot worse.

Movie Review: Mud

Mud (2013)
130 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland

Grade: A-

–

The film begins with two teenage boys, Ellis and Neckbone, who discover a boat in a tree on a nearby island. It’s something that kids like these marvel at as some kind of miracle, but adults would vision it as the result of a disastrous storm or flood. It doesn’t take too long for the kids to realize someone has been living there. This man goes by the name Mud. He’s mysterious but charming, a quality that reels in Ellis even though Neckbone doesn’t trust him.

In the poor Arkansas community, Ellis lives with his parents on a houseboat and helps his father sell catfish door to door. The single most important thing that drives Ellis throughout the film is his perception of love. His parents are going through a divorce and his idea of love is confused and broken. But as Mud reveals more and more about himself, Ellis turns his attention to what he believes is to be true love, something that Mud is fighting for.

What I loved about the coming-of-age story so much was how the teenage boys’ ideals contrasted each other. Ellis is the protagonist who is going through a tough situation during the divorce of his parents, given him a very negative perspective on love. But his youth and good heart keeps his belief strong that love exists. With Neckbone, he never even knew his parents so he’s far past the belief that love is something real. Their contrast blankets the entire movie from the moment they meet Mud to the final scene. Neckbone doesn’t change but Ellis goes through a great transformation.

Matthew McConaughey gives a memorable performance as the hopeful outlaw stranded on an island. Dirty, crass, but with a good heart, McConaughey’s Mud is someone easy to sympathize with, but also hard to trust. He’s never stereotyped with the number of troubled southerners we’ve seen in movies before, and this is because of how deep McConaughey digs into Mud. Going toe-to-toe with him, Tye Sheridon gives life to the movie. Being the teenage protagonist, we’re able to see through his eyes of a poverty-stricken world and the people and ideas he clings to.

Overall, this is a movie that balances drama, suspense, and the central theme of love in a stripped down setting, utilizing its greatest asset: the characters. Nichols does a great job displaying the natural beauty surrounding the community, along with understanding every character’s motivations as we watch the cause-and-effect unfold. This is without a doubt one of the most memorable films in the first half of the year.

High School Movies of 2012

High school is always a great setting for a film. It’s arguably the most painful four years in your entire life and as teenagers, you’re going through so many changes at neck-breaking speed. I always considered high school to be something like life in the fast lane. In those four years you’ll experience plenty of ups and downs: the excitement of meeting new people and the agony of heart-breaks, the ecstasy of firsts and the grim reality of lasts, being an impressionable mind and being a rebellious individual. No matter what kind of person you are and what cliques you stuck around with, high school changes you. Whether it’s for the better or for the worse, well you can pick that up when you simply ask someone what they thought about high school.

That being said, the year of 2012 had a handful of memorable films about high school, but not all of them display the same kind of experience. I’m going to break-down how the high school films of 2012 portray high school.

–

21 Jump Street

Premise: Two undercover cops, Jenko and Schmidt, go back to high school to bust a drug ring.

Time Period: Modern Day

Old school vs. New School: Jenko was the cool kid in high school and Schmidt was the geek. Jenko advises Schmidt on how to be cool and fit in before they attend their first day undercover.

“One, don’t try hard at anything. Okay? Two, make fun of people who do try. Three, be handsome. Four, if anyone steps you on the first day of school, you punch them directly in the face. Five, drive a kick-ass car.”

Cool Kids: To Channing Tatum’s surprise, jocks and tough guys aren’t running the school like he did when he was in high school. Instead, smart and independent kids are the cool kids. Jenko (Tatum) blames Glee.

Parties: While Jenko and Schmidt are undercover, they live at Schmidt’s parent’s house. But with them away for the night, Jenko and Schmidt throw a huge party with dance music, kegs of beer, and a pound of marijuana. Also a fight breaks out.

Things to Learn: Hipsters didn’t exist in the 90′s.  Also, if you punch a person in the face and he turns out to be gay, it can be considered a hate crime.

The Bottom Line: Since I was in high school in the late ’90s I can relate to Jenko when he said that the jocks and toughs guys were the popular kids in school. I have no personal experience to determine if the “cool kids” have changed like 21 Jump Street is suggesting, but a few of my friends have said it has, to a degree.

–

Chronicle

Premise: Three high-schoolers gain superpowers after making a discovery underground. Soon, their lives spin out of control and their bond is tested as they embrace their darker sides.

Time Period: Modern Day

Cool Kids: Jocks and anyone who gives an awesome talent show performance.

Parties: Kids over-crowd a huge house full of alcohol. Beer pong and empty bedrooms available.

Super-Teens: This is a nontraditional high school film since the main characters have superpowers that they describe as a muscle that can be strengthened from time and practice. But being the teens they are, they use their powers for pranks such as: moving a woman’s car in the parking lot and scaring a little girl by making a stuffed bear float.

Things to Learn: If you have super powers, don’t use it for bad. Also, even teenagers with super powers can’t fight back alcohol poisoning.

The Bottom Line: Chronicle does a great job at portraying the level of uneasiness teenagers have while trying to fit in with a crowd. The three main characters show three different cliques effectively: the popular jock who practically runs his class, the handsome boy who is in-between cool and geek, and the off-centered, loner whose difficulties at home result in his overall unhappiness.

–

Project X

Premise: Three high school seniors throw a birthday party to try and make a name for themselves.

Time Period: Modern Day

Cool Kids: Jocks and tough guys, as well as slutty girls.

Parties: The whole film shows the most epic party of all time. A parent-free house with a huge backyard including a swimming pool. There is alcohol, drinking games, and drugs present as well as a DJ playing dance tunes all night long.

Let’s Get this Party Started: The birthday boy, Thomas, is influenced by his ridiculous friend Costa to throw an out-of-control rager at his parent’s house when they’re away. But what starts out as a small flame turns into an all-out wildfire when hundreds of kids show up at the party. The rate of bad decisions being made snowball once the alcohol gets flowing.

Things to Learn: Do not throw a party at your parent’s house and do not allow your friend (who is obviously using you) to tell a radio station your address to add more people to the party. But still, even though the house is destroyed and you have a criminal record, apparently all that matters is your reputation. Oh, and you’ll get the girl in the end.

The Bottom Line: The kids in this film are just as out of control as the film itself. But if there’s anything positive to take from Project X, it’s that there are kids like Thomas and Costa who aren’t specifically cool, but would do anything to gain that reputation. And everyone has had that dream of throwing a monstrous party and becoming popular. Of course, Project X takes it all to a ridiculous level, but if you search deep enough there is a strand of dignity here of being a high school film.

–

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Premise: A freshman with a traumatic past enters high school as fearful and shy, but discovers himself with the help from two seniors.

Time Period: ’90s

Cool Kids: Jocks, though these teenagers are all in one hybrid clique of kids who don’t really belong in any specific group.

Parties: Holiday gatherings with secret Santa exchanges, truth or dare, and a mild-mannered party with alcohol and drugs.

Things to Learn: A loner, a gay teenager, and a former slut can be best friends. Doesn’t that make life worthwhile? Also, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the biggest cult following ever.

Remember When: Believe it or not current generation, but there was a time when smart phones didn’t exist and people made mix tapes and mix CDs instead of file sharing playlists on Spotify or iTunes. I like to imagine how Charlie would be in this generation. Already lost and alone, would he be even more separated from everyone at school, or would he find comfort at not having to talk with people face-to-face through technology?

The Bottom Line: The Perks of Being a Wallflower takes your damaged goods of high school students and piles on more trauma than you can possibly imagine. But this group of misfits is an example of high school as being life in a nutshell. There is love, loss, firsts, conflicts, the real world, family, etc. In the end, the impact from high school is something everyone holds onto. For Charlie, it helped him become someone, which is something he never thought was possible. I’m sure everyone felt like that at one point of their high school life.

–

From the portrayal of high school in 2012 films, not much has really changed. While 21 Jump Street proposes the cool kids have shifted away from the jocks and tough guys, the other films suggest otherwise. But one thing’s for sure, high school teenagers have it tough and it’s not getting any easier for them. There will always be the pressure of fitting in and being “cool” during high school and everyone handles that issue differently. You can throw a party and hope that it’s a big hit, turning your high school reputation around. You can impress your classmates at a talent show and display a side of you that no one has ever seen before. Or you can just find other kids similar to you and join a group of misfits.

While everyone wants to be cool, that’s not what makes you a success later on. Maybe that’s why high school movies don’t usually focus on the popular kids. Instead, they concentrate on the typical teenager struggling with his identity and the fast-paced world of high school. It’s certainly a far more appealing story and that’s why this is a genre that will continue to thrive as every new generation begins and ends.

Movie Review: The Place Beyond the Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
140 minutes
Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes

Grade: A-

–

Director and co-screenwriter Derek Cianfrance teams up with Ryan Gosling again and delivers a strong follow-up to the emotionally-driven Blue Valentine. The flaws of the couple were a big part of the failed marriage, but Cianfrance turns that up a notch in The Place Beyond the Pines. Here, everyone has flaws and it results to some terrible decisions with consequences short and long-term.

Beginning with Luke (Gosling), a tough and young motorcycle stuntman, he makes a living traveling around the nation and defying death in a metal sphere. But his lifestyle takes an unexpected turn when Romina shows up at the carnival after his performance. They share a short and bittersweet reconnection. You can feel they shared something big at one point, but something still lingers. That something is how Luke left behind his baby son, which he didn’t know about, that Romina and her new man, Kofi, have been caring for.

Gosling does some incredible acting as Luke, the lost anti-hero who is charming and likable, but with a dark side. He decides to stay in Schnenectady and wants to help out with his son, Jason. But when he meets a man named Robin, his desperation gets the better of him and Luke starts robbing banks. Everything he does is for Jason even though Romina doesn’t ask for it. But because of this, he runs into trouble with the police.

Which is where Avery (Cooper) comes into play. The young police officer becomes involved with a group of crooked cops and to save his ass he winds up taking a deal and ratting them out. Avery also has a young son but most of his conflict is concentrated within the workforce of the police department and his struggle to uphold ethics and morals, something he’s familiar with being the son of a judge and a law school graduate.

Luke and Avery share a lot of common ground even though they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum. But their wives are the ones who are really stuck in the same situation. Played by Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne, both mothers are dealing with unfavorable dilemmas that are jeopardizing their children’s well-being and future. While the first two-thirds of the film unravel in completely different ways, the last third of the film comes full circle to the sons of Luke and Avery, who are now in high school.

In some ways, the third act loses the movie’s momentum because it has the task of dealing with two characters and wrapping the movie up in the end. While Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen give solid, convincing performances, it’s really not them we know and care about. Nonetheless, they make plenty of bad decisions that lead them down a questionable path, but they can easily be let off the hook because they’re teenagers. They’re not the adults their fathers were whose bad decisions carried a lot more weight. They’re more reckless with a feeling of invincibility, especially AJ.

Performance-wise, Gosling and Cooper shine as two men on the opposite side of the law. Eva Mendes is fantastic as well, playing a mother torn between her past, present, and future. This is a film where you expect the worst to happen because the characters haven’t displayed much of anything else. Can one avoid the fate he’s certain to live? Or is his fate the product of his own decisions? Both AJ and Jason have that weighing down on their shoulders.

Movie Review: Pitch Perfect

Pitch Perfect (2012)
112 minutes
Rated: PG-13
Directed by Jason Moore
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin

Grade: C+

–

What was I expecting from a film about an a cappella competition? Frankly, I was expecting a lot more than this. The location is Barden College, where they apparently value school activities more than attending classes. I have to assume there are sports involved at this college, but we never even get a glimpse that exists. What we do see are the rivaling a cappella groups, the defending champions Treblemakers and the all-female Barden Bellas, who are trying to move on from a disastrous performance at the finals.

The film follows a freshman named Beca (Kendrick), who is aspiring to become a DJ/producer and doesn’t show interest in anything else. But when one of the leaders from the Bellas overhears her singing in the shower, she’s convinced to audition and eventually joins the Bellas. But her and head Bella, Aubrey, clash instantly because of Aubrey’s close-minded attitude and routine.

I think you can guess how the rest of the movie plays out. There’s a romantic interest between Beca and freshman Treblemaker recruit Jesse, and there is a lot attempts to make a cappella singing look cool. But it’s an underdog story just like anything else and it comes down to a Treblemaker vs. Barden Bellas finals. There are also the goofy commentators played by Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins, who deliver some funny lines but have absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

The one stand-out from the cast is Rebel Wilson who plays Fat Amy. Her performance is the only part of the film that seems like a deliberate attempt at comedy. She was memorable in Bridesmaids and it’s good to see her continue to blossom as a young, comedic actress, especially when a film desperately needs it. As for the talented Anna Kendrick, she seemed a bit uncomfortable in this leading role but it felt more like a struggling screenplay than her actual performance.

The main problem with Pitch Perfect was how little happened and how even less was explained and developed through the duration of the film. There was a two minute scene when Beca questions her father for splitting up with her mom. Was that the reason why Beca was so closed up to anyone that got close to her? If that’s the case, then we’re going to need more than a two minute kitchen conversation. This was just one of the many shortcomings Pitch Perfect displayed, but at least most of the a cappella music was fun, right?

The credits roll after abruptly interrupting an audition scene that the filmmakers are hoping to continue with a sequel. But there was an empty feeling once the film ended, one that felt a lot more like a two-hour Glee episode rather than a memorable high school film like John Hughes’ The Breakfast Club, which Pitch Perfect refers to frequently. Maybe that was the point for making the movie in the first place. No message, no moral, just kids having fun making music with their mouths. If that was the intention, then I guess Pitch Perfect is all right.

Remembering Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

On Thursday, April 4, 2013, Roger Ebert passed away at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. He was 70 years old.

The Pulitzer Prize winning film critic has left behind an incredible legacy, one that many people have looked up to throughout his decades of work. I, for one, always found myself reading Ebert’s reviews daily because he was one critic that I really felt connected with the readers when criticizing movies. There was no doubt that his knowledge of film was second to none, but what made his writing so successful was how personal it was. More times than not he would explain why he loved a movie, not just why a movie was good or bad. Because after all, films are meant to evoke emotion and that’s why every person is able to love a film that we know isn’t technically great.

A recent example of this is how in 2007 he listed the Top Ten films of the year. Despite writing that No Country for Old Men was “a perfect movie,” he placed it runner-up to the film he called his “true love,” which was Juno. Ebert wasn’t afraid to admit certain things like this, but that never stopped him from expressing exactly what he felt. We would learn more and more about the man through his reviews, and even though I never interacted with him, I felt like he was my friend who simply opened me up to the world of cinema.

I didn’t watch movies seriously until my second semester of college and this also was the first year I actually followed the Academy Awards. I remember how it was 2004-2005 when Brokeback Mountain was supposed to win everything. But Ebert, one of the very few, claimed that Crash would win Best Picture. And as Jack Nicholson let out a shocked, “Whoa!” he announced that Crash did win the big award that night. Even though I understand that predicting the Oscars isn’t all that terribly difficult, I also understand predicting an upset is and I just smiled when I though of how Ebert was grinning from ear-to-ear to correctly predict Crash (arguably one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history).

In keeping with the Oscars, I remember just this past year how Ebert predicted that Argo would win Best Picture before the film was even released to the general public. After the Toronto Film Festival, he felt so confident that he blogged about how the case was closed and Argo would win. As a reminder, this was before Argo started winning all the Guild awards, before the backlash of Zero Dark Thirty, before Lincoln became the critical darling. And as everyone else watched these films fluctuate all up until February, in the end Ebert was right again. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.

I do remember watching more than a handful of “At the Movies” with Richard Roeper. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to watch Siskel & Ebert though I will be searching for those videos in the near future. But it’s true to say that Roger Ebert had a great influence in my life because of the passion he had for film. It was almost like a cinematic epiphany when I realized how movies are more than just an entertaining two hours and more than just a way to escape from your current life. Because of Ebert I enjoy following multiple layers of plot, analyzing a character’s motivation and his development, concentrating on a director’s intention and the choices he/she made to tell the story, etc. I can truthfully say that I love everything about film and a great part of that is because of Roger Ebert.

Ebert’s reviews were always like he was just talking directly to me, and that is definitely a strength in his writing. After watching Mulholland Drive, I read his review and just smiled because his prose was so spot on with how I felt. He wrote, “The way you know the movie is over is that it ends. And then you tell a friend, ‘I saw the weirdest movie last night.’ Just like you tell them you had the weirdest dream.” That’s exactly what I did and just reading those words put a smile on my face. Of course I continued to torture my friends by forcing them to watch the mind-fuck that is Mulholland Drive, but it’s still one of my favorite movies ever and will remain to be. I was very glad when I learned Ebert included Mulholland Drive into his Great Movies section in November, and even more delighted when it was basically a string of questions as to what exactly goes on in the film. He admits he’s still no closer to figuring it out, but that’s what makes it a great film.

There are plenty of critics out there, but only a rare few write in an honest way that Ebert always did. While I will never achieve the accomplishments that Ebert has (not many will), I still hold dear what was so important to him and the way he conducted his writing every day. He wrote:

“Almost the first day I started writing reviews, I found a sentence in a book by Robert Warshow that I pinned on the wall above my desk. I have quoted it so frequently that some readers must be weary of it, but it helps me stay grounded. It says:

‘A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit he is that man.’

That doesn’t make one person right and another wrong. All it means is that you know how they really felt, not how they thought they should feel.”

If that isn’t the only way to write film criticism, then I don’t know what is. Ebert transcended film criticism and enlightened the world with his reviews. It’s sad to think how there won’t be anymore reviews written by him, but still his legacy will live on.

These were the final lines of his blog post written the day before he died, “So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.”

It’s almost like he knew.

R.I.P. Roger Ebert

We lost a legend today.

Movie Review: Larry Crowne

Larry Crowne (2011)
98 minutes
Rated PG-13
Directed by Tom Hanks
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts

Grade: C

–

Larry Crowne has a good set-up for a romantic comedy: a hard-working, middle-aged man gets laid off even though he’s arguably the best employee and must go to community college to get his degree. Think of this as Community if Jeff Winger was older and not a jerk. Tom Hanks stars as Larry Crowne and after being laid off, times are so hard on him he has to drive a Vespa. But don’t worry, there’s a cool Vespa gang at community college!

That’s what you can expect during Larry Crowne. This is a film that is awfully light-hearted and there is never really any doubt that Larry Crowne will find success. He meets new friends instantly, he’s offered a new job that he enjoys and he catches the eye of the public speaking teacher, Mrs. Tainot (Roberts). You already know how it’s going to end before it starts, but I guess that’s the case for most romantic comedies.

Julia Roberts is the most interesting and realistic character in the film. She’s unhappily married (to Bryan Cranston, a man who is excellent in any role given to him), drinks a lot and doesn’t seem to care about anything. She even gives Larry Crowne the stink-eye at first but falls for his charm and kindness.

There’s nothing special about this film and if you’ve watched a romantic comedy before, then you certainly don’t need to watch this one. Tom Hanks, in his prime, starred in far superior rom-coms than this, but there is an audience for Larry Crowne. It’s safe, predictable, and will put a smile on your face. It’s a film that people can enjoy to watch without any worry about straining their minds. There is nothing wrong with a movie like this, I just wish it was more involved.

Movie Review: Project X

Project X (2012)
88 minutes
Rated – R
Directed by Nima Nourizadeh
Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown

Grade: C-

–

Movies about high school are full of cliches: nerds, jocks, partying, sex, college, alcohol, etc. Project X has them all and it doesn’t even try to hide it with any sort of moral or message that could benefit any teenager who watches. It’s an all out, rage fest of a film; unapologetic of its insulting and crude material and ignorant to its own stupidity.

But it’s kind of fun.

High school senior Thomas is persuaded by his friends to throw a party for his 17th birthday since his parents are going to be away. One thing leads to another and a thousand kids end up showing up to the party. Debauchery ensues and events during the party turn ridiculous such as a midget being thrown into an oven, a car being driven into the in-ground pool, and a lawn gnome containing dozens of ecstasy pills is broken.

This is your teenage fantasy film about a bunch of nobody’s fulfilling their ultimate dream of becoming popular after throwing the most epic party of the year. At first, you feel bad for Thomas because he really is a good kid, conflicted with peer pressure from his friends and craving to fit in at school. But all of these feelings soon diminish after he constantly makes bad decisions, snowballing the party into an absolute riot. Once again, this is a fantasy film for all those normal teenagers to get high off of.

Putting all the negative qualities of the movie aside, and there are a lot, what bugs me the most about Project X is how shallow the film actually is. At least attempt at any kind of positive message, or some characters that we can relate to or even have an emotional attachment to. But there’s none of that during Project X. It’s simply an enormous party and as the audience, we’re in the corner with our red solo cup just watching everything unfold without a care in the world.

Though I’m sure that this movie cares equally as little as we do.

Movie Review: We Bought a Zoo

We Bought a Zoo (2011)
124 minutes
Rated – PG
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church

Grade: B

–

A family drama is a complicated genre because unless it’s an animated feature from Pixar or Dreamworks, it’s a tough task to keep the attention of both children and adults. We Bought a Zoo is a family drama that suits adults much more than kids, but it’s still a family drama nonetheless. Aside from the animals in the zoo, there’s not much to hold the kids’ focus for this 2+ hour film, but for the adults, it’s entertaining and heart-warming.

Matt Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a single father because of the tragic death of his wife. He has two children, Dylan the rebellious son who has trouble communicating with his father and pours his emotion into his drawings; and Rosie, the cutest girl in the entire world who jumps for joy at the sight of the animals.

Two supporting characters really make an impact on Benjamin’s life: Duncan (Church), his brother and Kelly (Johansson) the zoo keeper. Duncan provides plenty of comic relief and also portrays the brother who speaks logic to his brother who seems to be acting on emotion. It doesn’t make sense to buy a house and a zoo when he doesn’t know anything about maintaining one. Even when Benjamin digs himself a hole and runs out of money, Duncan suggests he leaves the project after a good effort, but Benjamin is determined to see things through. Whether it’s for himself, for his kids, or maybe a bit of both, Benjamin places all of his chips in.

In the other corner, Kelly provides the passion for the animals and for rebuilding the zoo back up. She’s the emotional force behind the zoo and Benjamin feeds off of her enthusiasm and finds something he could help with in his quest to move forward without his wife. One of the things I truly enjoyed about this film is how Benjamin and Kelly’s relationship never blossomed to a distraction on screen. The story isn’t about Benjamin and Kelly finding each other romantically, it’s about the family working things out together in the means of the zoo.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable family drama with solid performances all around the cast. Based on a true story, the film deals with the loss of a loved one and a family trying to move on. It’s touching yet never tear-jerking during its most powerful moments, but it’s still a film that is a good watch for anyone.