Zookeeper:
** (out of four)
Starring Kevin James, Leslie Bibb, Rosario Dawson, Donnie Wahlberg and Ken Jeong. Includes the voices of Nick Nolte, Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Adam Sandler, Judd Appatow, Jon Favreau, Don Rickles and Maya Rudolph. Directed by Frank Coraci. Approximately 101 minutes. Playing at major theaters. Rated G.
Back in 2009, Kevin James, the star of the hit TV show ``King Of Queens'', made a movie called ``Paul Blart: Mall Cop''. It was about a single dad who is a mall cop and tries to take out some robbers who have come into the mall. It was not a work of art, but it was a lot of fun to watch. Also, Kevin James is such a likable actor.
Now, it's 2011 and he has another starring role in a comedy called ``Zookeeper''. He plays Griffin Keyes, a zookeeper who 5 years earlier was dumped by his girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb) after he proposed to her because she didn't like his job. Now, Stephanie has come back and is showing signs of wanting to get back together with Griffin. Griffin decides that he should quit his job at the zoo and get a job working at his brother's car dealership so he can win back Stephanie.
However, the animals at the zoo don't want Griffin to leave. They think he's a great zookeeper and they decide that they will help him get the girl. Now, you're probably wondering how they would be able to help him get the girl because they are animals. Well, that's a great question. See, these animals can talk. They also have celebrity voices (eg. Sylvester Stallone as a lion, Cher as a lioness, Judd Appatow as an elephant, Adam Sandler as a monkey, etc.).
I have to admit that I was disappointed by this movie. I was expecting this to be a really funny movie. I wasn't expecting art, but I wanted some decent laughs. When I went to see this, though, all I got were some chuckles and that's not enough for me to recommend this movie. Also, at one point, Griffin becomes a big jerk so he can win Stephanie over. It wasn't fun to watch. Also, you know that when Griffin goes to a wedding with a co-worker named Kate (Rosario Dawson) so Stephanie will be jealous and want Griffin back, you know Griffin will end up with the other woman. Plus, there is a character who works with reptiles named Venom (Ken Jeong) who is supposed to be funny. However, I just found him to be creepy.
When I went to see this movie, there were kids there that were laughing out loud at some of the jokes, so I think that kids will really like this, but I don't think the adults taking the kids will have a great time.
