FILM

USA 2011 102 mins Dir: Frank Coraci Starring: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong

Every summer brings a talking animal movie. It's the law. But it's not necessary for them to be quite as feeble as this huge, steaming pile of loquacious beast excrement, whose five (count 'em!) credited scriptwriters appear to have taken 'Dolittle' as an instruction as well as an inspiration. It's a vehicle for charmless chubster Kevin James - he of 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' - boasting a blend of pratfalls and sickly sentiment that effortlessly lives down to the low standards of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison production company.

James plays Griffin Keyes, whose snooty girlfriend Stephanie (Bibb) rejects his proposal of marriage because he's a lowly zookeeper. Five years on, he's still moping. His brother then tempts him with the offer of a car dealership job, which is more likely to be a hit with shallow Stephanie. So the inmates at Boston Zoo decide to help him out, breaking their code of silence to reveal that they have the voices of the likes of Cher, Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, and so on. But while the animals are sharing their mating rituals, Griffin fails to notice Miss Right in the lovely form of co-worker Kate (Dawson).

Yep, it's a film about a fat bloke who falls over a lot, making him mysteriously attractive to a brace of hot women. While this might fulfil the fantasy needs of a section of the accompanying dad audience, restless kids are likely to feel short-changed. When a miserable gorilla in solitary confinement asks, "Is TGI Fridays as incredible as it looks?" it's difficult to decide what's more depressing: the unfortunate ape being robbed of his dignity or the astonishing product placement that develops into a five-minute commercial. (Robin Askew)

website www.zookeeper-movie.net/

Opens: July 29

Copyright Robin Askew 2011