“Buddy” (1997) is Bananas

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Caroline Thompson’s family drama Buddy (C-) chronicles the tale of an ecentric woman (Rene Russo) and her live-in animal companions. There may be a gorilla in her midst, but the story has a few missing links, to say the least. The telling of this true tale seems more like a chore than an opportunity for entertainment. Elaborate animatronics from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop can’t seem to animate the belle of the ball of the wild at the film’s hollow center.