“All’s Well That Ends with Animals”

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

 We Bought a Zoo is based on a true story in which the location has been moved from England to southern California and was directed by Cameron Crowe.

Crowe is also the writer-director of the 1989 Say Anything…, the 1996 Jerry Maguire, the 2000 Almost Famous and the 2005 Elizabethtown.

Starring Matt Damon as Benjamin Mee, the movie starts with the information that Benjamin’s wife had died six months earlier, and Benjamin is left to raise their daughter, Rosie, who is 7, and their son, Dylan, who is 14.

Benjamin doesn’t want to go to any of the places that he and his wife used to attend, but he reluctantly tells his brother, “I shall try to start over.”

Consequently, he quits his job at the newspaper where he works, decides to move to a different location, and is shown a “unique” option by the realtor, which is exactly what Benjamin says he was looking for.

The house is unique because the 18 acres on which it sits comes with a zoo that was shut down two years ago, and a stipulation requires the owner of the house to also maintain the zoo.

The zoo already has a staff, and it includes Kelly Foster, the head zookeeper, who is played by Scarlett Johansson.

Of course, we can predict that a romance between Benjamin and Kelly is in the future, as well as one between Dylan and Kelly’s niece, Lily, who is 13.

Naturally, however, the main part of the story is to get the zoo ready for its grand reopening, pass the required inspection, and take care of the animals, which are more than just a lion, two tigers, and a bear, oh my.

Benjamin also has to overcome the resistance of his brother, who calls Benjamin insane, the grumblings from his employees who think he will never last, and the fact that Benjamin is running out of money before the zoo can even open.

In addition, the zoo is so far out in the country that Benjamin has to drive nine miles to the nearest grocery store, which causes a problem when there is no butter to go on the corn on the cob that he prepares for Rosie and Dylan.

We Bought a Zoo shows that all’s well that ends with animals ends, well, with animals.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”