Zookeeper: a cliché of all elements it boosts of; and predictable.

Zookeeper is a film with predictable story and flat characters. It is a movie about talking animals and a lovable yet totally loser slob, who is a caretaker at a city zoo (such an unpredictable profession I would say after the name of the film makes it more than clear). He takes relationship advice from talking animals and learns the ways of the wild to woo back his hot girlfriend who dumped him on the day he proposed her.

The movie begins with zookeeper Griffin Keyes, played by Kevin James, proposing his girlfriend with a romantic sunset setting but well just to get dumped then and there. Fast forward to 5 years ahead where Keyes is still working as a zookeeper. There we see him working with an attractive veterinarian and there are a lot of signals going around, but as luck would have (or lets say the predicable plot lines), re-enters the plastic girl who had dumped Keyes. Well Keyes is still like a love-sick puppy around her, and it is clear until and unless he woos her in any other way the last option would be to leave his job as a zookeeper and join his brother as a salesman.

So here come the animals to the rescue, the talking animals, who don’t wish to loose kind hearted zookeeper. The animals then take the task on themselves to help Keyes woo the lady love, with their ways of wild, in order to keep him from quitting his job as their care taker. What begins then on is a tale where Kevin James plays his best always....a lot of falling, a lot of stupidity and a lot of stooping as well.

Nearing the end, Keyes does leave the job at the zoo to become a salesman and uses his 'ways of the wild' training in actually succeeding at that. Well what happens in the end is too early for me to reveal, as the film has just released in India. And I don’t want to be a spoiler.

But yes it is actually true that film is even far more disappointing than its trailer. The trailer is the blatant cliché of a slapstick comedy movie and it shows that movie has all elements, which the movie actually does but the order is well not so coherent overall.

I do like Kevin James, and agree he has been stereotyped far too many no. of times as the good at heart yet loser in life kind of roles. Well the ultimate underdog for the romantic comedies. He falls yet again perfectly into the character of Keyes, you know it’s all so predictable.

For me the real talents of the film were those who were voicing the animals. Sylvester Stallone as the gusty lion; Cher is his lioness. Adam Sandler plays a chattering little monkey, Jon Favreau and Faizon Love are the bickering bears, Maya Rudolph voices a giraffe, and writer-director-producer Judd Apatow does an overeating elephant. And well the most prominent the lonely gorilla voiced by Nick Nolte.

I do like one bit in particular in the movie that is the part where Keyes takes out the gorilla for a night in town, where he pretends to be a man dressed as King Kong. This one is too much out right blatant humor, yet in the entire movie this is the only bit that made me laugh a bit.

The film has everything that is predictable and cliché. There are talking animals who teach the real lessons of life, there is a lovable soft underdog who is otherwise in no sense the Alpha male, and there is a hot attractive bitch who wishes he would change for her rather than for being himself.

The movie is directed by Frank Coraci, who has also directed movies such as Wedding Singer, Around the World in 80 Days and Click. I think after I knew the name of the director and his earlier credits my interest in watching Zookeeper increased further, after all he was donning the director’s hat after a hiatus of 5 years. I feel a bit sorry for both the director and the movie, because even a successful director of good comedies and five screenplay writers (yes the film has 5 writers) couldn’t salvage the film, and then I guess nothing could have.

Out of 5 I would rate the movie as a 1 n ½. All the marks go to Kevin James for once again essaying a role where there is abundance of falling and lowering of self respect; and the talent that lends its voice to the animals in the movie.

One last word to all western filmmakers of romantic comedies, can we please get a small break from these predictable stories that revolve around animals. Until and unless there is something truly different, I guess we will always know what the movie holds even by seeing its trailers.

Bad Teacher (2011): It is bad but fails to be good in that.

Bad Teacher is a Bad movie about a teacher who is Bad...... that is it. That's the whole plot and review.

Well yes that is pretty much what I felt, after I finished watching the movie and sitting down to write the review. That was the only line that flowed best on the page. But well allow me to dwell further.

Elizabeth Halsey, played by Cameron Diaz, is a Chicago middle school teacher at the John Adams Middle School who curses at her students, consumes lots of alcohol, smokes marijuana, and only shows movies while she sleeps through class.

When the movie starts she is shown quitting her teaching job so as to get married to a wealthy fool and enjoy a carefree life of luxury. But when in a movie, have you ever seen any ‘happily ever after' in the beginning. The wedding fails to materialize and Elizabeth is back at her old teaching job and teaching methods.

At the school Diaz meets Scott Delacorte, played by Justin Timberlake, a new substitute teacher who is also an heir to a multi-dollar watch empire. In him, she sees her old dreams of marrying rich and luxurious life begin to rekindle. But this time she is not alone. Competing with her at the school, in teaching and in love, is another teacher Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), who is as irritating for the staff as for the students.

What follows is an ugly battle of competition between the two teachers to gain the attention of the rich heir, who believes in simulated sex with clothes on as a way to search ones true mate.

The ugliness is further fueled by the rich prince charming's fantasy for big boobs, or so Elizabeth seems to believe is the only reason he overlooks her and chooses Ms. Squirrel. And so begins her journey to get money for breast implants and series of raunchy jokes and gags.

This is a movie about good v/s evil, but surprisingly I didn't find myself picking any side. For if evil is represented by Diaz and her drugging and movie screening ways of teaching; the good side is equally appalling by screechy, irritating Squirrel; whimpering Timberlake; and a lovesick underdog like the Basketball Coach, Russell Gettis (Jason Segel), who makes every possible attempt to make his feelings loud and clear for Elizabeth all to get his advances rejected.

I think it was the supporting cast that did the only good job in the film, while rest were just put to the place where they fitted the best. Diaz is used to act sexy and put an edge in all the raunchy jokes. Timberlake is used as a man piece for girls, but he is totally damp and a waste for any screen time whatsoever given to him in the film. Jason Segel’s act, as the underdog puppy eyed loser basketball coach, I would say is good casting as that clearly goes with his characters from his earlier films such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
And Ms irritating Squirrel is well cast as she irritates the crap out of u with her excessive goody good two shoes act and irritating dialogue delivery.

I think the only place in the plot or script where the film works a bit for me was the place when Diaz is fighting tooth n nail to get the money for her boob job. And esp. the part where she cons the state examiner to get the test papers from him, and how she claws her way out of d whole allegation later. I really enjoyed that part, as that was the only part that kept me engaged in watching the film.

This film is the classic case of good, bad and ugly. Nothing is good, every one is equally bad, and Timberlake acts ugly.

Other than that the film is pretty predictable as you always know that in the end anti- heroine will turn into a heroine. You know she will revise her old ways and the underdog love stuck puppy would win her with his goodness.

Out of 5 I would rate the movie as 1n1/2. All the marks, just for all d raunchy jokes and the only part of the plot that managed to make me laugh. What I expected was a shocking movie; I got that but not totally in a positive sense. I thought the film did have a promising concept and I did enjoy the brazen performance by Cameron Diaz, as she did manage to keep me engaged in the scenes where action was lacking. But still the overall after taste of the movie was as if it lacked not something but almost everything that I expected.

In the recent Teen Choice Movie Awards the movie did won quite a few accolades for itself, such as Choice Movie- Comedy, Choice Movie Actor- Comedy for Timberlake and Choice Movie Actress- Comedy for Diaz. I just agree with the last category for winning, but then ‘to each his own’. Nonetheless I would say my usual line that ‘do watch it once’ because no matter how good or bad a film is every audience member should make their own opinions.

Bad Teacher (2011)

Director: Jake Kasden

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segal, Lucy Punch

Producer: Jimmy Miller, David Householter

Writer: Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky

Cinematographer: Alar Kivilo

Editor: Tara Timpone

Running Time: 92 minutes

Favorite Scene: the car wash scene, and the whole episode where she seduces the state examiner and gets the tests and the whole cover up.....