Normally, when a film gets pushed back, it’s a bad sign. This is not one of those times. After extremely positive reactions to a test screening (who are these people?), Sony has decided to move the Kevin James laffer “The Zookeeper” from its October date to July 8, 2011, hoping to reel in the cash with a potential summer blockbuster. Director Frank Coraci, the auteur behind “Click”, must be more than thrilled, as the last stupid-Kevin-James-flick “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” hauled in $146 million domestically, and a better date means better dollars.
The film follows Kevin James in a different pathetic job and different pathetic circumstances: this time, the animals in the zoo start to give him advice on his love life. Is he crazy? Is he under a spell? Do we care? The cast of zoo characters includes voices from Sylvester Stallone, Adam Sandler, Jon Favreau and Cher. As for real people, we’ve previously reported that both Leslie Bibb and Rosario Dawson will be in the film, with one of them sure to play the love interest. The film is a joint between Sony and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison production company, most well known for churning out comedies that don’t have to be funny to make a load of money at the box office.
Honestly, this writer really did enjoy “Happy Gilmore” as a youth, but there’s still a difference between Adam Sandler cursing at everyone and Kevin James being fat, making funny faces, and falling down. Though in retrospect, maybe there isn’t. This summer, look out for “Grownups,” another film in which the rotund James will fall into things, with Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock and Rob Schneider joining him for the ride. As for “The Zookeeper,” you’ll have to wait another year for that, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they attach a teaser of some sort to “Grownups.” Little else can be found about the project, and whether or not Kevin James’ character will have a mustache remains a mystery.