M. Popper et ses manchots

By now, Jim Carrey's career is one lined with a long history of hit and misses—from the zaney and energetic debut of Ace Ventura, to the less than stellar murmur of say, Bruce Almighty, Carrey is one of those comedic actors who occasionally takes his brand of comedy to breaking point, but somehow manages to stick around and continue raking in the dough. Flash forward now to the summer of 2011 where the comedic landscape in terms of family features in the cinema all seem to heading in the same direction—talking animals—and you have a no brainer; hey, let's put those cute little fellas from Happy Feet in with that guy who made us a lot of money by pulling dumb faces! Sure; sounds like it could have potential, but in order to reach that potential one would have to, you know, write a script and not just mash them together with a generic by-the-numbers Big Business Man Learns To Be A Good Dad plot. Instead however what we're left with is an insulting homage to all things kitsch and puerile that repeats the same jokes over and over ad nauseam to the point of sheer boredom.

The plot is simple: Mr. Popper is a wealthy business man who has all the riches in the world, but lacks the one currency that sells movies; love. Struggling to father his children in the same way that his father provided little support for him, Mr. Popper ends up inheriting a box of penguins from his recently deceased dad as a means of (somehow) connecting and finding the love that he lost through his short-sighting endeavours. What follows of course is exactly what you might expect from that brief synopsis, and maybe a quick look at a minute of the trailer. At first driving Popper up the wall, the penguins who each have their own delightful trait (we have Captain, Loudy, Bitey, Stinky, Lovey and Nimrod) soon warm up to their cold-hearted owner and vice versa as everyone involved learns that big fancy houses and a six figure income only matter as long as you're having fun and loving everything and wearing sweaters and giving high fives and being as routinely sickly as humanely possible without starring in an advertisement for the Nintendo Wii. Oh, and there are poop and fart jokes; and penguins running into things; plenty of them.

As much of a stinker that the script is however, there was a time when one could rely on Jim Carrey and his assorted hijinks to bounce off stage and interrupt everyone's heavy eyelid batting and make us laugh, but even Carrey who is clearly showing his age here in this glossy advertisement for The American Dream fails to make much of an impression. There are a couple of moments here and there where Mr. Popper can be amusing, but for the most part he's like a bland, dislikeable caricature of Donald Trump. I mean, this is the same guy who made a lawyer the funniest person the screen during the summer of 1997— surely a salesman shouldn't be a problem? But it is; a real big one. And as it comes to its long overdrawn erratic conclusion, you get the impression that Carrey's comedic career is one destined to drown in a sea of similar safe-play Eddie Murphy-esque family comedies that leave adults snoring and kids running up and down the aisles. As Pippi Peponopolis might say; it's positively petulant, pandering and painful, Mr. Popper! So please, please stop pretending like love is the answer when clearly money is all that was on the minds of everyone involved here—that's you're problem and how you fix it—obviously—is to give everyone at 20th Century Fox a penguin. Yabsolutely!

Before I begin, let me say this: I like Jim Carrey. I really do. In fact, I watched Ace Ventura: Pet Detective back when I was a kid, and I still find it funny today. But, as with most actors and comedians, there is that little thing called shtick. Don't we all see a pattern when we see those familiar faces on the screen? In fact, it seems to generate the same kind of reaction: We become endeared to it at first, but then it gets real by the time the fourth or fifth movie rolls around. Will Ferrel, Adam Sandler and even Carey himself, are all the biggest 'offenders,' so to speak, in this day and age. But, for the sake of this interview, let's focus on the latter, and how this movie relates to his 'shtick.' The movie in question, if it wasn't obvious already, is Carey's latest venture, Mr. Popper's Penguins. Based loosely—the key word being 'loosely'—on the 1938 novel by Richard and Florence Atwater, "Penguins" tells the story of a work-obsessed businessman named Tom Popper, whose life is turned upside down when he inherits six penguins from his late explorer father. As is wont, his cold heart begins to melt by means of the flightless, cold-loving birds. In the meanwhile, he tries to evade suspicions of his bosses, a respected entrepreneur, and a brown-nosing zoo keeper while also rekindling his relationship with his estranged ex-wife and kids. And, yes, that's the plot in a nutshell. But, does that mean it's as mind-numbing as it sounds? No, my friends. It's not as bad as it seems.

First off, let's get the downside out of the way. The plot is thoroughly and shamelessly predictable. It is riddled with so many clichés, that I could sit there, predict every turn the movie was going to take and be right. Also, I sat there and counted six—yes, six—poop or fart jokes. There may have been a couple that I missed during a bathroom break, but I'm sure there were a couple more that I could have counted. I blush to admit it, but I do laugh at potty humor, but only when I don't expect it or it makes the movie actually funny. Again, predictability killed the mood for me.

However, for all its faults, it's more charming than repulsive. Carrey, though he is relying on his standard, over the top shtick, is not overshadowing those adorable penguins. But, aside from Carrey, his six co-stars, and his estranged family, there are two saving graces for this movie. Mr. Popper's secretary, Pippi (played by British actress Ophelia Lovibond) is a prim little poppet with a penchant for alliterating all her sentences with any and every word beginning with the letter P. She does grate a little bit, but she is still quite adorable. The other actress to show her face here is the great Angela Lansbury, who plays the owner of a restaurant that Popper used to eat at with his late father. It is so refreshing to see this woman on the silver screen again, especially for a girl who grew up with the likes of Beauty and the Beast and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (There's alliteration there, too, eh? Oh, darn this movie!). She still retains that grace and charm through all the forced dialogue and situations, and I applaud her for that.

Overall, my feelings for this movie can best be summed up by its summary on RottenTomatoes.com: "Bland, inoffensive, and thoroughly predictable, Mr. Popper's Penguins could have been worse…but it should have been better." But for all its faults, its charming, fun and completely harmless. It's probably best for kids, but animal lovers will love the cuddly penguins, and Carrey fans will like seeing their idol on screen. Give it a shot and decide for yourselves.

Loosely based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Richard and Florence Atwater, this is a family movie that does not ask to be taken seriously.

As a kid, Popper never really knew his father, an explorer who was always away on some adventure or another. As an adult, he is a successful New York realtor, but divorced and lives away from his two kids. Mr. Popper's (Jim Carrey) latest assignment is to acquire a landmark restaurant owned by entrepreneur Selma Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury). Despite Popper's gift of the gab, Van Gundy will not sell the "Tavern on the Green" unless the buyer is a person of true value. After a not so convincing attempt at buying the tavern, Popper receives a strange inheritance from his late father— half a dozen penguins. At first Popper is annoyed and irritated with these frosty creatures but they start to grow on him. His children then fall in love with the penguins and soon enough, he starts to date his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) again. Soon enough, Popper converts his plush New York condo into a winter wonderland to accommodate his winged friends; much to the dismay of his neighbors and a pesky animal protection zoologist. Eventually, Popper is on the verge of getting his family back but his bosses fire him for ignoring his job. Popper must now decide between being a lovable family man or revert back to being a cold business man that he was.

Adults will find this movie filled with predictable moments, some of which are cliché ridden. Still, there is a lot of charm and feel-good moments if viewed as a family movie. Kids will find the penguins adorable, funny and mischievous, all at the same time. Having said that, there are few recurring jokes for adults as well, only thing is they are more potty than witty. Jim Carrey fans will find his rubber-face moments dwindled down to barely a handful of scenes. Although Carrey still has it in him, it is evidently clear that his on-screen magic has diminished over the years since "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective". As a woman caught between dating her ex-husband and a new prospect, Gugino's scenes are subtle but do not really add as much in terms of comic moments. There is however, a bit of feisty raunchiness in her eyes, and if this was manifested into deeds it would have really added an extra depth to the movie. As a guest appearance, I was delighted to see Ms Lansbury in this movie. Most noted as a TV icon in "Murder She Wrote", Lansbury's addition to the casting is well placed in a role as the regale New York entrepreneur. They could have added anyone from Glenn Close to Meryl Streep, but Lansbury is perfectly cast and commands respect in the very few scenes she appears in. Another standout appearance comes from the lovely Ophelia Lovibond as Popper's personal assistant, Ms Peppy. If you think the title of the movie is a bit of a tongue twister, wait till you hear Peppy; a person with precise paranoia in punctuating phrases with ample amounts of Ps. Pretty perky! With just ten titles to his credit, this is a decent effort from director Mark Waters. Although a far cry from "Happy Feet", Waters' depiction of six cute penguins, albeit CGI assisted, adds amusement and heart felt warmth to scenes of icy New York. As a result, this is a pleasant movie for families with young kids and is a preferred alternative to a trip to the zoo.

Me and my wife took our 3 kids to this one, we wanted to enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon together watching a cute family flick, and this movie delivered what we were expecting. our kids laughed and had a lot of fun, and i found myself enjoying most parts of it.

Story is very familiar, about a business man " Carrey " who is always busy and away from his kids, then suddenly he inherits penguins that changes him and his life,..i guess you sort of know from here where the story is headed. a very simple, and might sound silly story, but executed in a very good manner, that made it better than your average family movie. Carrey was funny as always, and added a lot to the over all enjoyment of the film.

It is a family movie, starring Jim Carrey with penguins and is rated PG, what really are you expecting ? it is exactly what you would expect from this type of film. Just grab your loved ones, head to the theaters, and enjoy this movie for what it is, don't take it seriously, and you will have a great time !!

On Saturday, I had the honor of attending an advanced screening of Mr. Popper's Penguins. Now I have never read the book in my life, but I am aware that the film is an extremely loose, contemporary adaptation with a setting in the present day rather than the 1930s in the book. So if you're a die-hard fan of the classic book, avoid this movie because they made so many changes to this new setting, it's insane. I am a Jim Carrey fan as well, which was the main reason I went to this film, but don't kill me for saying that I still have not seen Liar Liar, Ace Ventura, and The Mask yet. But those three are still on my watch list, though.

Jim Carrey plays Tom Popper, a successful New York City businessman who has put almost all of his life into his work life instead of family. One day he gets a phone call saying that his father has died, but he left him a gift behind. That gift is six gentoo penguins, and these penguins are going to help him realize that he has shunned out almost every opportunity he's had in life to appreciate the beauty you can experience if you take the time to do so. Once the penguins are brought into the public eye, though, Popper has to contend with a stern zoo keeper (Clark Gregg) who wants the penguins because he believes that Popper's house is not well-suited to take care of all of them.

Jim Carrey definitely carries this movie and saves it from being a complete disaster. His physical slapstick that has become well known in almost his whole career translates in a good enough manner to provide so decent moments of comedy. He may be very grounded in his limits for what he can and can't do, but watching Carrey go crazy on screen is always good enough for me. The supporting cast's performances are really nothing special, but it was pretty cool to see Clark Gregg go on the villain side for once, when he's not playing SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson in the MARVEL films building up to The Avengers. However, the penguins I believe are the weakest part of the film. The jokes involving the penguins are heavily centered on young children and parents who like to see their kids laugh. I'm 17 so I thought most of the jokes were very juvenile at some times, especially a running joke they carry on with one of the penguins who goes by the name of Stinky. In addition, you'll be able to tell in every scene involving the penguins when they're real or CGI, especially in the final climactic sequence of the film.

Overall, if you've seen the trailers to this film, you pretty much know what you're going to get out it. This movie could have been a Razzie nominee in several categories, but Jim Carrey is there to save it from going in that direction. I can say that I mildly enjoyed most of this movie, but I'll probably forget sometime this week.