Damon stars in ‘We Bought a Zoo’

The movie: "We Bought a Zoo"

When: Opening Friday at local theaters

Cast: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning

Director: Cameron Crowe

The story: A recently widowed writer, trying to overcome his own grief and help his children do the same, moves his family to a ramshackle animal park.

The buzz: After a six-year break after the underwhelming "Elizabethtown," director Crowe returns to filmmaking with this fact-based heartwarming tale, which shifts settings from England to Southern California.

-- Carol Cling