We Bought a Zoo: Don't we all?

Life is an adventure. And to thrive you need 20 seconds of insane courage. That's the message of this surprisingly excellent family movie. Change that to 20 minutes of insane courage every day and the Movie Slut is willing to buy into the idea.

Sorry, right-wing conservatives, you no longer have a stranglehold on family values. Matt Damon, the consummate Hollywood insider, now wears that crown.

"Zoo" could have been a cloying, shmaltsy, sappy flick about a widower (Damon) with two children and a wicked case of crushing grief. He's a newspaper reporter. Not a happy job to have these days. (Thanks very much Internet.) But that was before he bought the zoo.

And so he takes the path less traveled and finds himself emerging, ever so slowly, from the loss of his beloved wife.

This is not rocket science. Neither is it simplistic. It's a flick filled with emotional truth and love.

No animals were harmed during the filming of this movie. And no humans will be harmed by watching it.