The Penguin Lessons

3/31/2025

There’s an old expression in show business that advises entertainers not to work with children or animals because they’ll upstage them every time. But, while that’s often true, it’s not always the case, as seen in the latest feature offering from director Peter Cattaneo. This charming comedy-drama tells the fact-based story of English teacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), who somewhat begrudgingly takes an instructor’s job at St. George’s College, a prestigious boarding school in Buenos Aires, just before the 1976 Argentine revolution. The cynical, curmudgeonly teacher has moved around a lot, and he’s not particularly thrilled at this latest stop, as becomes apparent in his classroom demeanor and overarching attitude. Not long after his arrival, when a military coup d’etat hits that overthro

4/18/2025

<em>'The Penguin Lessons'</em> is hearty viewing. Steve Coogan plus penguin is a recipe for success so the films delivers in that respect, I think any movie with a cute little flipper is going to be impossible to dislike. Everything with the penguin is sweet, much with Coogan is funny. It's a really interesting plot, one that is based upon a rather incredible true event. The backdrop of 1970s Argentina adds a fresh edge to it all, so it's not simply a flick that relies on its cute animal. As serious as the flick gets (still reeling from that gut punch tbh), it is amusing stuff too. Coogan is a smart choice of lead, although I could also weirdly visualise Rowan Atkinson and someone else I've since forgotten (ffs) in the role too. Obviously I know who Coogan is and do like him, but asi

5/10/2025

“Tom” (Steve Coogan) is an English teacher who has worked his way around South America becoming a little more cyclical than your average bear when he arrives at a posh school outside Buenos Aires that teaches the sons of the great and the good. It’s run by the ostensibly rather foppish “Timbuck” (Sir Jonathan Pryce) and after his first day he has little enthusiasm for his post. Then, in quick succession, he meets his Finnish colleague “Tapio” (Björn Gustafsson) and there is a timely coup so the school is closed and the pair decide to head off to Uruguay for some fun. “Tom” gets more than he bargained for, though, when a romantic walk along the beach introduces him to an oil slick and to a penguin that’s covered in the stuff. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished and next thing he has a