Jan 22: Mr. Popper's Penguins

"The life of a businessman begins to change after he inherits six penguins, and as he transforms his apartment into a winter wonderland, his professional side starts to unravel."

   Mr. Popper's Penguins is exactly like the other "family" films that are churned out each and every year. The film follows a man who doesn't want to be in the position he is in, but manages to make the best of it and learn a lot along the way. Crazy antics ensue which include nut shots, fart jokes, pooping, and the over cliched divorced dad who seeks to regain the love of his kids. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he's a businessman who just focuses a little too much on his work, and not enough on his family. All of this happens, of course, in New York City...around Christmas. Sound familiar? (see Santa Clause, Elf, etc.)

Tis the season for cheesy family films..

   Even though Mr. Popper's Penguins is insanely predictable and nothing special, I did find myself laughing at a couple of scenes. Penguins, no matter what setting they are in, will always be entertaining and this time around is, unexpectedly, no different. Sure, at times, their CGI-ness is laughable but a lot of the stuff that they do is worth a chuckle. Just like the same flightless birds in Madagascar, the penguins are the only saving grace. In fact, I would have totally sat down and watched the penguins play for 90 minutes then have to sit through the boring story and unoriginal jokes. It actually gets worse as the film goes on. There is a scene, I kid you not, where Jim Carrey holds the penguins over a toilet, and squeezes the poop out of them. 

The toilet refused to comment.

   Overall, Mr. Popper's Penguins proves to be the same old run-of-the-mill family flick you see once a year. The only exciting things it brings to the table are the penguins and, although entertaining for a large part of the film, the too frequent pooping or running into things grows very frustrating. Sure, I know the film was made for kids and you may wonder why I even bother watching it, but that does not justify the stupid toilet humor. Jim Carrey really needs to get his act together and produce some quality work again. One takeaway I have for this film is my now stronger desire to own and raise a penguin. I prefer to not have to go through a messy divorce and lose the respect of my kids in order to get one. 

Sight: They did, in fact, use real penguins for certain scenes, however the CGI used for a large portion of the film adds to the cheese factor. 

Sound: I may want a penguin of my own, but their ridiculous honking, is rather annoying. From a soundtrack aspect, the film's score is just as unoriginal as the plot, sounding just like every other family movie.

Skill: Jim Carrey shows off his physical comedy on multiple instances, but the fact he signed on for the role is just discouraging. Also, kid actors suck... always.

Script: Whoever decided to write in all of the toilet humor needs to be fired. Let that then be a lesson to every screenwriter out there who thinks that kind of shit (no pun intended) is funny. 

Overall: 4.1/10

Best Quote: 

"Yeahbsolutely" nothing worth mentioning.