Zookeeper

Griffin Keyes works as a keeper at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, where he is far more at ease with the animals in his care than with people. Years after his marriage proposal to Stephanie was turned down, she comes back into his life, and Griffin begins to wonder whether leaving the zoo for a job selling cars with his brother would make him the kind of man she wants. The animals overhear his plans and decide to intervene. In doing so they let Griffin in on a long-kept secret: they can talk. Once he has recovered from the surprise, they set about coaching him in courtship as it is practised in the wild, and their lessons appear to be working.

Frank Coraci directed the film, his fifth feature after The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Around the World in 80 Days and Click, and one he returned to a contemporary comedy setting for following Here Comes the Boom, Blended and The Ridiculous 6. Kevin James stars as Griffin and co-wrote the screenplay with David Ronn and Jay Scherick; Adam Sandler was among the producers. Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Joe Rogan, Nat Faxon and Ken Jeong appear alongside James in a credited cast of 58.

Released in July 2011, the film cost about 80 million dollars to make and took roughly 170 million dollars worldwide. Audience response was middling: on IMDb it holds 5.2 out of 10 from around 69,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.4 out of 10 from over 1,800 votes. A critics' rating of 3.6 out of 10 from 130 reviews places it below those viewer figures.