Going into this series, I’d seen two of the three movies before (this one and Almost Famous) This time around, I viewed with more critical glasses and tried to observe the mark Crowe makes on his films. AKA, what make a film a Cameron Crowe film?? His stamp on Almost Famous is clear. His stamp on Jerry Maguire? Still not clear. To wrap up the series, I thought I’d look at the 2011 film, We Bought a Zoo. Read on to find out whether or not Crowe met his own bar.
Oh, and I should mention that not only did Crowe direct these films, he played a hand in writing them as well :) I Did it Because I was Desperate!! Benjamin Mee was desperate to find something after he lost his wife. I on the other hand, was desperate to rebuild the "icon" status of Cameron Crowe as a writer/director in my mind. If you caught my reviews of Almost Famous and Jerry Maguire, you may remember I pretty much revered Crowe’s vision as a filmmaker following Almost Famous. Following Jerry Maguire, the reputation was deflated. I needed something to inflate it again, and We Bought a Zoo did just the trick. Meet the Mee’s. Lost father Benjamin (Matt Damon), moody son Dylan, and innocent daughter Rosie. Six months ago, their mom passed, and from what we can tell, she was the heart and soul of the family. Ben tries his best to hold the family, but can’t really get a grip. Needing a change, he buys a zoo. Yep, lions and tiger and bear oh my. Even as a self-proclaimed “adventure addict,” he quickly realizes it was a much bigger undertaking than expected. As the film progresses, we see the zoo, its animals, and its staff, help to heal a broken family and remind them of what is most special in this world – life itself. If I could be so bold, I would say this is Matt Damon’s most underrated performance. He so perfectly portrays the character and strikes the perfect chemistry with his onscreen children, Dylan and Rosie. Played by Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones respectively, are such amazing characters each in their own way. As much as I am critical of child actors, they were superb. Even each member of the zoo staff delivered a great performance, even though Elle Fanning’s character was so awkward it hurt at times. Fun fact: the star Almost Famous, Patrick Fugit, comes full circle and returns under Crowe’s direction to play the zoo’s resident craftsman. What I loved so much about Almost Famous were the nuances – the facial expressions that could replace an entire monologue, the songs that you hear and recognize but don’t take away from the scenes, just add to them, the sets and the costumes that told you more about the characters than their words did. It were these “nuances” that were missing in Jerry Maguire. In We Bought a Zoo, they’re back. Every detail, even the ones you only notice subconsciously add the extra layer that makes the story unforgettable. *For reference, I reviewed them a bit out of order from when they were produced. The true chronological order is Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, and We Bought a Zoo. I suppose somewhere between Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous, Crowe found his stride and realized the 😈 is in the details. What I think is most outstanding about this film, other than the fact that it’s a true story (with a few liberties taken by Hollywood, of course,) is that no matter what stage of life you are in, young, old, or somewhere in between, this film will strike you and leave you with that wholesome feeling that a movie should. And that is what makes a Cameron Crowe film. Take Fifty Two Rating: Watch P.S. Before this series was even an idea, I reviewed Crowe’s very first film, Say Anything (1989.) Check it out here. Comments are closed.
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