Kevin James Hits Netflix's Top 10 With Throwback Movie
Kevin James has a Netflix hit on his hands. The actor, known for movies like Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Grown Ups, and Dilemma, starred in Frank Coraci's 2011 fantasy comedy film Zookeeper, and now more than a decade after its theatrical run, Zookeeper ranks as one of the most popular movies currently streaming on Netflix. As of Friday morning, the film ranked No. 9 on Netflix Kids in the U.S., beating out The Bad Guys and falling behind other titles like DreamWorks Animation's Home, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, and The Boss Baby, which claims the No. 1 spot and also ranks on the overall Netflix Top 10 Movies chart.
The popular movie finds James taking on the role of Griffin Keyes, one of the best-loved caretakers at the Franklin Park Zoo. While he may be comfortable with animals, Griffin is not comfortable with females of his own species. With a lacking love life, Griffin decides that the only way to get a girlfriend is to find a more-glamorous career, a move that causes panic among the animals, who, in an effort to keep him from leaving, reveal their secret ability to talk and offer to teach him the rules of courtship.
Zookeeper was directed by Coraci, with a screenplay from James, Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Jay Scherick, and David Ronn, from a story by Scherick and Ronn. Along with James, the film also stars Rosario Dawson, and Leslie Bibb with supporting roles by Ken Jeong, Donnie Wahlberg, Joe Rogan, Nat Faxon, and Tom Woodruff Jr., alongside the voices of Cher, Nick Nolte, Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Judd Apatow, Jim Breuer, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Richie Minervini, Maya Rudolph, and Bas Rutten. The movie enjoyed a theatrical release in the U.S. in July 2008 and earned $169.8 million on an $80 million budget.
Unfortunately, Zookeeper ultimately failed to win over critics and audience members. The film currently only holds a 14% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, where a critics consensus reads, "Zookeeper smothers Kevin James's with a sodden script and a surfeit of jokes inappropriate for the young viewers who would be intrigued by its juvenile storyline." The film fared a bit better among the audience, with a 41% score, but it is certified rotten in both ratings.
Despite those negative reviews, though, Zookeeper is ranked among James' best movies. IMDb ranks Zookeeper as James' fifth top movie "of all time," and Ranker also has the movie placed fifth in its ranking. Zookeeper is now streaming on Netflix.