And they are obviously responding to his caring presence. But Griffin has
problems when it comes to relating to humans.
It seems he’d proposed to good-looking girlfriend Leslie (Stephanie Bibb),
but she not only rejected him, she dumped him. So Griffin has been
moping around for, oh, about five years, but he does have a good working
relationship with the zoo’s veterinarian, Kate (Rosario Dawson). When
Griffin suddenly bumps into Leslie again at his brother’s wedding, he
swoons all over again, and wonders aloud how he can attract her attention
once more.
The animals, who only talk when the humans aren’t around, decide to break
their code of silence in order to give Griffin some friendly advice. At first,
of course, Griffin has to get over the fact that they can talk (and actually
gather together every night to visit each other with the help of the monkey
who picks the locks on all the gates). The animals, naturally, all have
different advice: the frog says he should puff up, well, like a toad. The
female lion (the voice of Cher, no less), advises him to make Leslie jealous
by showing up at the wedding reception with another girl. The male lion
(the voice of Sylvester Stallone, which is a very interesting matchup with
Cher), predictably, advises him to stand down his rival and then separate her
from the herd and move in for the “kill.” The wolf advises him to “mark his
territory” publicly, which is another opportunity for little sight gags. The
bears think he ought to alternate being nice to her and being mean to her,
with the supposed result that he will be in control of the relationship. This
last one plays out a little strangely, and goes against the feel-good mantra of
the whole. You’re supposed to be intentionally mean to people to get them
to like you?
Finally, Griffin decides to ask Kate to accompany him to the reception, and
they enjoy some luminously funny moments, but somehow Griffin doesn’t
realize Kate’s attentions are more than just an act for Leslie’s benefit.
Meanwhile, Griffin finally accepts that car salesman job that his brother has
been hounding him about, and after some initial success (where we get to
see some more of Kevin James, the comedian, cutting loose), Griffin soon
realizes how unhappy he is not being around the animals, and also around
Kate. We all know how it’s going to end. But he didn’t have to be mean to
Leslie as a kind of payback in kind, and revenge in full, did he?
Sure, the film could have been funnier. It’s uneven, determinedly puerile
and at times just plain awkward, as most Adam Sandler movies are (he
played the monkey who kept making poop jokes). But, also like most
Adam Sandler movies, there’s a certain populist charm here as well, and an
easygoing kind of romanticism that feels comfortable and uncomplicated.
“Zookeeper” won’t win any awards, but is a harmless popcorn movie for the
whole family.
Ronald P. Salfen is co-pastor of United Presbyterian Church, Greenville,
Texas.
