REVIEW: Mr. Popper's Penguins

MOVIE
Mr. Popper's Penguins

CAST
Jim Carrey,
Six Annoying Penguins

RATING
PG

RELEASE
June 17, 2011

DIRECTOR
Mark Waters

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 34 minutes







STARS
*1/2












REVIEW:

Ever since I was a young kid, I always loved Jim Carrey movies. From 'The Mask' to 'Liar Liar,' I could never stop laughing at Mr. Carrey's physical humor. Heck, I even still like some of his more negatively received movies like 'The Cable Guy' and 'Yes Man.' Now it is 2011, a year where family movie are thriving with critics and audiences alike. So what not be better for Mr. Carrey to expose himself to a large family audience than put himself next to a bunch of penguins? That's basically what 'Mr. Popper's Penguins' is: Jim Carrey next to a bunch of penguins. I went in to this movie expecting some belly laughs from the king of physical humor, with some cute penguins to go around. What I got was far much worse. This movie only provides the audience with annoying penguins, non-stop poop and fart jokes, and mushy family bonding moments that just made me squint in my seat. As hard for me as it is to say this, but Mr. Popper's Penguins is the worst family movie that I've seen since Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

Tom Popper is a fast talking businessman who is also divorced with two kids who can't stand him. One day he receives a package from his now late father, a traveling explorer who was last seen in Antarctica. In this package there are six mischievous penguins who cause nothing but trouble for popper at first. However a sudden change of heart from his family help convince him to keep the penguins. But soon his career and an evil zookeeper keep pulling the penguins away from Popper. Now Popper must decide what is more important to him in life: family or business.

As much as I love going to see movies, whether they are good or bad, I absolutely wish I went to see something else. I really wanted to see a funny family comedy, but instead I get a non-stop poop, fart, and selfish family marathon that goes on for an exhausting 87 minutes before the credits roll. I believe that this is the first movie in many years where I actually couldn't wait for the credits to start rolling. The main problem I had with this movie was the six penguins that you see on the poster. These are the most annoying movie animals I've seen in a very long time. I had a huge headache when driving home, mostly because of this one penguin, Loudy. For those who have hearing aids and are going to see this movie, do yourself a favor and keep your aids at home, because this penguin will annoy you throughout the movie. There's also another penguin named Captain who apparently has a dream to fly like other birds. I know that this is a kids movie, but what penguin in the world has the urge to fly? It's only the kids movies that add these dumb sub-plots. Then there's a penguin named Nimrod, and you could probably guess why they would have a penguin named Nimrod in this movie. The penguins will bring many awws and bellylaughs to the young children, no doubt. But if you're someone over 11 and enjoys a good kids movie, stay away from this movie at all costs.

A bad family movie is only supported by a bad movie family. Jim Carrey's family in this movie is one of the most selfish families that I've ever seen. Before the penguins, Popper's kids practically hate him. But alas, potentially dangerous penguins come into their lives, and they're instantly in love with their father again. When the penguins are taken away from Popper an hour into the movie, guess what happens again? This just shows that only dangerous, wild animals can charm kids that hate you. Ain't that special? Wait a minute, why is Carla Gugino in this movie at all? Just for the quick buck, I'm guessing. She has no purpose being in this movie, and has no reason to call Jim Carrey 'Popper' throughout the movie. Hell, Jim Carrey's entire family calls him 'Popper' throughout the movie. Whatever happened to calling someone 'dad' or 'Tom' to talk to someone? Like I said, worst movie family I've ever seen.

There is no denying that Jim Carrey is a very funny comedian. His physical timing is absolutely sublime. He is really the only good thing in this movie. If it was anybody else playing Mr. Popper, this movie would have been even worse than it is now. In fact, Carrey's antics in this movie are the only reason why I boosted my rating an extra half star. Mr. Carrey is a master at improvization, which helps drag this movie through its worst moments. In fact, Carrey is the only reason why I didn't walk out of this movie. But like I said, only Carrey could pull this role off, even if he pulls it at a minimal. If there's any reason to be forced to see this movie, it should be because Jim Carrey is a funny person and a talented comedian. This movie may suck, but Jim Carrey is still one of the funniest people alive.

Despite having Jim Carrey as a strong player, this movie fails on many levels. This movie shouldn't even be considered a "family movie." This is more like a joyless, stupid little kids movie that only people under the age of 10 would enjoy. I've never been so annoyed by penguins in my life. If you want to see penguins in a movie, do yourself a favor and watch Happy Feet. Even though the penguins can talk in Happy Feet they're still less annoying than these troublemaking animals. As for the family, the Malcolm in the Middle family is less selfish than this family. Well, I may be over exhaggerating with that, but I'd honestly rather be living with Malcolm's familythan Popper's family. Jim Carrey may be funny, but he can't save this disasterous movie. If you take your kids to see a family movie this summer, take them to Kung Fu Panda 2. Kids and adults can both enjoy the animated panda movie rather than the annoying family/penguin movie. Do yourself a favor this summer and do not even dare to visit Mr. Popper's Penguins.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Monte Carlo

Zookeeper

Puss In Boots

The Muppets

Alvin & The Chipmunks:
Chipwrecked