I join CTV Atlantic anchor Bruce Frisco to talk about the one-horned horrors of “Death of a Unicorn,” the rompin’, stompin’ deja vu of “A Working Man,” the flightless dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons” and the off-kilter Prime Video film “Holland” with Nicole Kidman.
Watcxh the whole thing HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review “The Penguin Lessons” and suggest a cocktail to give you happy feet!
Click HERE to hear Richard and Shane unpack the unexpected: Joey Ramone’s new project… for kids.
Click HERE for Booze & Reviews. This week a Fuzzy Penguin takes flight!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do a high five! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the deja vu of “A Working Man,” the horrors of “Death of a Unicorn” and the dramedy of “The Penguin Lessons.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, “The Penguin Lessons,” a new drama starring Steve Coogan and now playing in theatres, a British teacher has a personal and political awakening after adopting a penguin amid the political unrest of 1976 Argentina.
CAST: Steve Coogan, Björn Gustafsson, David Herrero, Jonathan Pryce, Julián Galli Guillén, Aimar Miranda. Directed by Peter Cattaneo.
REVIEW: Are penguins the most cinematic of all birds? Sure, “Chicken Run” was a giant hit and Alfred Hitchcock made avian menagerie of “The Birds” memorable, but penguins, despite being flightless, really soar at the movies. From documentaries (“March of the Penguins) and musicals (“Happy Feet”) to comedies (Mr. Popper’s Penguins) and adventure movies (“My Penguin Friend”), their paddle-like flippers have touched almost every genre going.
Now add socio political thriller to the list.
Set in 1976, “The Penguins Lessons” sees Steve Coogan play Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a disillusioned Brit who takes a job as a schoolteacher in Buenos Aires. He’s a misanthrope, with a socially awkward sense of humor—“I’m like Ernest Hemingway, but with no money, and I haven’t written any books.”—looking for a quiet life in a quiet town.
What he discovers is anything but quiet. His students are a spoiled bunch of brats, and the country is in turmoil. President Isabel Perón is on the way out, soon to be replaced by a military dictatorship. “It’s a ghastly business,” says the school’s headmaster (Jonathan Pryce). “We try to keep out of it.”
When the coup is announced Michell hightails it to Uruguay for some R&R. There, on a romantic beach walk with a woman he met in a bar, he finds a penguin, later named Juan Salvador, covered in oil. The woman convinces him to take the penguin back to his hotel, leaving him stuck with a bird he has no idea of how to look after.
Back in Argentina, Michell and Juan form an unlikely bond. “What happened to you?” asks the headmaster, noting a change in Michell’s behavior. “I met a penguin,” says Michell.
A story of compassion and empathy set against the inhumanity of a political coup, “The Penguin Lessons,” although based on a true story, feels like two movies grafted together.
Still, Coogan is in fine haughty form. He delivers what we expect, sarcasm used like a weapon and razor-sharp comedic timing, but, as the story acquires more weight—as people close to Michell get disappeared and his friendship with Juan blossoms—he digs deep. He’s still the reserved, almost rude character he always was, but the rough edges have been slightly sanded down as Juan Salvador, a name that literally means John Saved, helps him regain his humanity.
Seen in the macro, “The Penguin Lessons” doesn’t really work. The political backdrop feels like a plot device rather than an integral part of the story. But when it focusses on the relationship between man and penguin it pulls at the heartstrings.
There is a certain kind of British feel-good movie that, while predictable, still packs an emotional punch. Movies like “The Full Monty” and “Calendar Girls” are underdog tales, filled with colorful characters and improbable situations, yet, somehow, they rate a fist pump in the air by the time the end credits roll.
“Military Wives,” starring Kristin Scott Thomas and coming this week to VOD, is cut from that same cloth. A story of resilience tempered with large dollops of sentimentality, it’s a heartwarming drama about the healing powers of friendship and music.
Based on the BBC docu-series “The Choir,” the film is set at a small military base outside London. The year is 2011 and Kate (Thomas) has just said goodbye to her husband (Greg Wise) as he left for Afghanistan for the fifth time. It’s more poignant goodbye than usual as it is the first deployment since the death of their son, a soldier who perished while in service.
Meanwhile, Lisa (Sharon Horgan) the base’s welfare officer, in charge of coming up with ways to keep the wives and partners of the soldiers occupied and entertained. At one meeting, however, Kate takes over. “Let’s come up with some exciting activities to do while our service people are away.” The idea of forming a choir is raised and implemented, which only amplifies the differences between the laidback Lisa and hard-driving Kate. “This reminds me of when my parents got divorced,” says one choir member as Lisa and Kate passive-aggressively jab at one another in rehearsal.
The early practices do not yield musical result. They sound “like the incantations of a bunch of witches,” says Lisa, but with time a bond forms between the members, both personally and musically. These women, who live in fear of a bad-news phone call or knock at the door, find strength together and when tragedy strikes the choir becomes more important than ever. “You may not need the choir Lisa,” Kate says, “but those women do.”
Nothing in “Military Wives” will come as a surprise. Beat for beat it echoes the ups-and-downs of “The Full Monty’s” moments of triumph and tragedy. Peter Cattaneo directed both, and while it feels a bit been there, done that, I’d add, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Predictability is “Military Wives’” biggest sin. But the familiarity is blunted by the performances—Thomas expertly portrays the bubbling anger and heartbreak hidden behind Kate’s smiling façade—inspirational messages of comradery and the way it portrays the women’s strength in the face of grief and loss.
