Zookeeper

This one is getting terrible reviews, but I assure you that it is actually quite good. Kevin James plays a zookeeper giving serious thought to leaving his job to pursue a woman (Leslie Bibb). The zoo animals love him, so they decide to talk to him in an effort to help him get the girl—and possibly keep him on the job. James is a decent-enough leading man, alternately funny and sweet, but the main reason to see the film is for the perfectly cast talking animals. I especially liked Adam Sandler as a mischievous monkey, Sylvester Stallone and Cher as a couple of lions, and Nick Nolte as a lonely gorilla who wants to spend a night out at T.G.I. Friday’s. The film loses its way a bit in the middle, and could’ve used more of the talking animals and less of the romantic-plot nonsense. Still, the kids will laugh at the talking monkey, and you might, too.