My Review of "Zookeeper"

Zookeeper came out back in 2011 and it has not translated to today's political climate very well. Everything in this movie screams something that would trigger a millennial today. So why is that the same reason why I love this movie so much more? It's not a very good movie by itself it's just the fact that it was probably one of the last of these type of movies to come out. Sort of like a last ride of innocence before realizing what they were really displaying.

This movie starts out with the main character Griffin. He's an everyday man that so happens to work in a zoo. He's out riding horses by a beautiful beach with his unbelievably beautiful girlfriend Stephanie. They stop to find a message in a bottle. In the message is an aid for Griffin to propose. There's fireworks and even a mariachi band.

Unfortunately for Griffin, Stephanie says no to his proposal and this is all due to the fact that he works at the zoo. He loves working at the zoo but this rejection is a huge hit on his psyche.

Years later he's still working at the zoo and they paint him as this holier than saints guy with the animals. He gets an invitation to his brother's wedding and his brother's fiancée so happens to be friends with Griffin's ex Stephanie.

This makes it extremely awkward for Griffin as he's still not over the rejection that he received the last time they were together. To make matters worse Stephanie shows interest in Griffin again giving him a glimmer of hope that the two can be together again.

Obsessed with Stephanie, Griffin is convinced that he needs to win Stephanie back but doesn't really have a backbone to do this. All the while, all of the animals at the zoo can actually talk with one another. They really like Griffin as he's treated them well over the years that he's been working there.

They decide that they will finally break the code and talk to Griffin so that they can help him out with his relationship problems. After that the movie goes into even more chaos and that's basically the premise of the movie.

This movie would have been better as a cartoon as you can see that back in 2011, technology isn't as great as it is today. The use of CGI and puppets shows and you can tell that they used some real animals. A lot of people won't be too impressed with this but then again they're probably against zoos in the first place anyways.

The concept of Griffin moping about because of Stephanie's rejection today wouldn't even be seen as a worthy reason for a movie. In today's point of view Griffin would actually be the villain of the movie. He has obsessive behaviors and slight sense of incel qualities. This whole movie could probably be totally interpreted as a horror movie with Griffin actually be psychotic and imagining the animals talking to him.

It's a far cry from what the makers of this movie probably intended for this movie. Even the love interest in the last half of the movie is pretty abrupt and doesn't flow too much. They should have given her more of a story-line so that they can better establish their relationship. If we're going with the horror story-line she could very much have been a figment of his imagination. This would be similar to the relationship of the Joker and his co-tenant in the movie Joker.

Still this was an enjoyable movie for me. I did like the fact that this was probably one of the last times that they were ever going to make a movie like this. It's always interesting to me to see what was acceptable in the past even though the past was only a mere 9 years ago. It's shocking how quickly our society has advanced in such a short period of time.

There are some notable scenes in this movie that are worth watching. I loved the relationship between Griffin and his brother. They are great together and their relationship dynamic is great. I wished there was more of that. I actually liked Griffin when he was the so called person he didn't want to be. When he became that character I couldn't help but laugh at some of the snide comments he was making. It's too bad that didn't last a little longer as well.

Overall, this movie is still fun if you lived in this time. You'll understand the feeling and mentality behind everything. It's also an interesting view of what life was like back in 2011. I liked this blast from the past. I would have to give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. There are a few standout moments in this movie but there are quite few of them.