Barring his semi-autobiographical Almost Famous I don’t much care for Cameron Crowe’s overwritten and sickly sentimental style. In fact a fair few of his films I absolutely despise so We Bought a Zoo was not high on my to-see list. The end results are predictably schmaltzy, heavy handed and emotionally false.

Based on a true story and relocated to America, no doubt the only basis of fact in this cliche riddled story is the premise that a recently bereaved father buys a zoo. Instead Crowe fills the film with the same familiar crutches he uses in all his work - precocious children, nauseating sentimentality, on the nose and ‘70s influenced musical choices. His films are often described as feel good…

Film #34 of No Rewatch November

It seems to me that We Bought a Zoo must have been heavily work shopped with a group of say a dozen middle class moms, all who used the word delicious a lot. Why does it seem this way? Well, because everything in this movie is all sappy and cute and formulaic, and mind numbing, and stupid, and horrible, and angering. Sorry I lost my train of thought. Did I mention how stupid We Bought a Zoo is?

So Matt Damon is a Dad who says man a lot. He has a son who draws artistic pictures of decapitated heads, and wears necklaces, so you know he's going to be trouble. He also has…

I like Cameron Crowe movies, generally, although I understand the main complaints about his films. Normally that they're manipulative and melodramatic. Unfortunately I'm a sucker. And suckers like being manipulated and like the melodrama. I think the worst part is that I'm fully aware of what's happening and I still get choked up as two character's have a meaningful moment. Like the 20 seconds of courage in We Bought a Zoo. The other aspect is loss. I find it easy to get into a film which surrounds the loss of a loved one. Up immediately springs to mind. Overcoming adversity is something I enjoy seeing. Redemption, another.

An added bonus of seeing the DVD is the gag reel is terrific.…

Despite it's flaws such as being tonally inconsistent, using great music in random scenes to invoke emotions, being rather cheesy and having under developed relationships, the film is still a delight. I know there are people who just despise Crowes films due to how sentimental they are and that he uses songs in a manipulative manner, but I just can't help but fall in love with his films even if they are overall forgettable, as is this one.The scenes that work are utterly beautiful and dearly touching, with the damn good performances (particularly from Matt Damon) really anchoring the movie. The overall theme of a father viewing his dead wife through his daughter and trying to fix up his life…

In het selecte clubje van regisseurs die bij ons op eeuwig krediet kunnen rekenen is Cameron Crowe al even vooraanstaand lid. Met ‘Almost famous’ hielp de cineast ons immers door een woelige periode van teen anxiety en de bijhorende soundtrack weerklonk doorheen onze adolescentie alsof het een leidraad door het leven was. (Tip: tik op YouTube ‘almost famous’ en ‘tiny dancer’ in en let the magic happen.) Zelfs Crowes 'Elizabethtown', die van critici destijds de wind van voren kreeg, heeft zich toen in onze hartenkamer genesteld. ‘We bought a zoo’, het jongste wapenfeit van de cineast, is zeker geen Cameron Crowe grand cru, al zullen zelfs de op azijn terende criticasters niet onaangeroerd blijven door deze alleraardige crowdpleaser.

Voor ‘We…