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Tom's Guide
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Netflix just got one of the best movies you (probably) missed in theatres — and it's like ‘Dead Poets Society' but with a penguin
To many people, 1989's 'Dead Poets Society' with the late-great Robin Williams is pretty much the perfect movie. But it appears that you can actually improve upon perfection, as 'The Penguin Lessons' takes a similar basic concept and throws in a truly adorable aquatic bird. Flying into theatres back in March (yes, I'm aware penguins are flightless birds, just go with it), 'The Penguin Lesson' stars the loveable Steve Coogan and is a sweet tale of unexpected friendship between a grumpy educator and a wayward aquatic creature. It returned only a modest sum at the global box office, but I expect it's about to enjoy a surge in popularity as it arrives on Netflix this weekend (July 26). It seems primed to charm the streaming service's subscriber base and is the perfect feel-good watch when you need a lift. Based on a true story, it's one of my favorite easy-watching movies of the year, and if you're looking for a Netflix movie full of charm and heart-warming moments, look no further. Set in the 1970s, 'The Penguin Lessons' opens with English teacher Tom Michell (Steve Cooage) moving to Argentina to teach at an exclusive all-boys school overseen by Headmaster Timothy Buckle (Jonathan Pryce). He arrives at a time of significant political upheaval in the South American country, and faces a classroom full of generally uninterested students. During a school closure, he takes a trip to Uruguay and discovers a lost penguin in an oil slick. He rescues it and brings it back to his hotel room. Michell's attempts to free himself of the bird prove tricky when the penguin refuses to leave his side. So with little choice, he reluctantly adopts the penguins, which he names Juan. This proves to be a life-changing decision as he forms a close bond with his unconventional pet. There's nothing inherently original about 'The Penguin Lessons'' core formula. There are numerous movies about an initially cantankerous figure softening up as they allow a new friend (or sometimes romantic partner) into their lives. But what 'The Penguin Lesson' lacks in originality, it makes up for in sheer spirit. It's an optimistic tale of finding the joy in life. While it's certainly not above manipulating your emotions, 'The Penguin Lessons' has plenty of gentle chuckles throughout, and I have no doubt many viewers will come away having shed a tear or two (or more). But its overall message is one of hope and of finding friends to help you out. Steven Coogan is well cast in the lead role of Tom Michell. It plays up the grumpy side of Michell's personality well, but even from the start, you can tell that underneath the sarcasm, there is a sweet soul just waiting to be unlocked. And oh boy, does Juan manage to do so. Perhaps where 'The Penguin Lesson' falls most is in its central setting of 1970s Argentina during the country's coup d'état. Last year's Oscar-winning 'I'm Still Here' took on the subject matter of a military coup in 1960s Brazil with steely determination, but here, the Argentine military coup isn't handled with the same appropriate force. It is touched upon often and informs several character motivations and arcs, but it does, on occasion, feel like the harsh realities of that period of history are glossed over in favour of charming scenes spent with a penguin. On the flipside, there's something to be said for a movie displaying that even in the darkest of times, there are rays of light. Just don't expect a rousing speech that matches the iconic ones delivered by Williams as John Keating in 'Dead Poets Society,' but in 'The Penguin Lessons,' you'll find a charming story, a strong leading performance, and a sidekick that will have you googling penguin adoption (No, you can't keep a penguin as a pet. I checked already). Over on Rotten Tomatoes, 'The Penguin Lessons' was largely well-received. It holds a 76% score from critics, which is enough for a 'Certified Fresh' seal of approval. Reviewers praised Coogan's performance and the lightly humorous tone, but criticism was levied at the movie's handling of real-life history. Meanwhile, viewers were seriously charmed by this one. 'The Penguin Lessons' has a 95% rating on the Popcornmeter (RT's audience rating metric), with recent reviews calling it 'brilliant, 'a must watch,' and 'absolutely adorable.' I assume that latter praise is referring to Juan Salvador the penguin, or perhaps their celebrity crush is Steve Coogan? While I'm a staunch advocate for seeing as many movies in theatres as possible — 'Fantastic Four: The First Steps' was my 50th cinema trip of 2025 — 'The Penguin Lesson' does feel like a flick that has found a good home on Netflix. It's ideal for a lazy Sunday or when you just need a little pick-me-up, and I suspect it might become a sleeper hit in the library. 'The Penguin Lessons' certainly isn't the only new movie that's been added to Netflix this month. Here's a guide to everything new on Netflix in July 2025 for even more options. Watch "The Penguin Lessons" on Netflix now
The Guardian
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Penguin Lessons review – Steve Coogan seabird comedy drama tries to sell feelgood mood
Here is a well-meaning, awkward tonal jumble of a movie, based on the bestselling memoir by former teacher Tom Michell; it is a quirky true-story heart warmer, in which an adorable penguin is apparently supposed to redeem not merely the human hero's personal heartbreak but maybe even the agony of Argentina during the 70s junta. It stars Steve Coogan, who has often in the past shown brilliant technique as a straight actor, and in Philomena with Judi Dench proved he is perfectly capable of carrying an un-ironised emotional story. But his performance here is bafflingly underpowered and opaque, as if he is slightly perplexed by the script he's been given. Coogan plays Tom, who takes a job in Peronist Argentina in 1976, teaching English at a stuffy private school for the sons of wealthy expatriates, and is wary of the overbearing headteacher, played by Jonathan Pryce. On a holiday to Uruguay, he rescues a penguin from an oil slick on the beach and finds himself responsible for this bedraggled bird. He ends up smuggling it back to Argentina with him where, named Juan Salvador, it becomes the unhappy and lonely man's feathered friend – actually, his only friend. But all this happens in tandem with Michell's personal involvement in combating the horror of the Argentinian junta in which innocent people get 'disappeared' by the secret police – and this of course blunts the feelgood mood that the film is trying to sell. Well, it is based on a story from real life, and real life is messy and doesn't conform to neat Hollywood genres. On the page, a memoir can perhaps better accommodate more of the baggy, contradictory impulses and implications. Weirdly, I felt that this odd film might have worked better if it was just about the lonely man and the penguin without the Argentinian tyranny – or just about the lonely man and the Argentinian tyranny without the penguin. The real non-CGI bird itself is very sweet. The Penguin Lessons is in Australian cinemas from 17 April and UK and Irish cinemas from 18 April.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Penguin Lessons' offers accidental lessons of its own
The British do cozy cinematic whimsy like few others, and Peter Cattaneo has directed more than his share, starting with 'The Full Monty' in 1997 and sloping off gently from there. His latest, 'The Penguin Lessons,' shares with his 2019 drama 'Military Wives' the challenge of fashioning an uplifting, audience-friendly silk purse out of the sow's ear of the world's political complexities. When it works, it works, but in the new film it doesn't work as often as it needs to. It's Argentina in 1976, and the military is gearing up for a coup d'état — whimsical enough for you? Into this tinderbox comes Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), a diffident British schoolteacher who has been hired to force English lessons into the brains of ruling-class sons at a Buenos Aires private academy. The country is falling apart, but, as the school's fubsy headmaster (Jonathan Pryce, wasted) warns the new instructor, 'We try to keep out of it.' What about the penguin, you're wondering? During a week's beach holiday in Uruguay, Michell and a woman he meets at a bar (a charming, roguish Mica Breque) rescue a Magellanic penguin from an oil slick, and once the woman leaves, he's unhappily stuck with the bird despite all attempts to be rid of it. Coogan is a dab hand at dry British misanthropy (avianthropy?) with a soft center, and 'The Penguin Lessons' is very much in his wheelhouse as the hero grudgingly brings his new friend back through customs and into the cloistered confines of the school, where, dubbed Juan Salvador, it remains a secret for not very long. Think 'Dead Poets Society' with an assist from the Audubon Society. This is all adorable, but the film's political backdrop pushes increasingly and awkwardly into the foreground. In classic movie fashion, Michell sticks his neck out for nobody until he finds new friends at the school, among them a breezy fellow teacher (Björn Gustafsson) and the school's two cleaning ladies, the elderly Maria (Vivian El Jaber) and her vaguely leftist granddaughter Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio). Then one of the characters is grabbed off a busy street in front of Michell by men with guns and sunglasses. Will he intervene? Would you? When all is said and done, 'The Penguin Lessons' is about finding the courage to stand up to injustice at one's own peril — only with penguin poop on the floor rather than blood. Jeff Pope's screenplay, adapted from the real Tom Michell's 2016 memoir, adds this fictionalized subplot to the story and includes a pro forma tragedy to the teacher's past to further goad him. The film acknowledges the 30,000 people who disappeared during Argentina's 'Dirty War' and places the grandmother with the real-life Mothers of the Plaza 25 de Mayo, but the solemnity is undercut by the glibness of the script and the cuteness of Juan Salvador as he wins over the hearts of everyone except those men with guns. It's the kind of movie where one of the main characters is taken into overnight custody and emerges with bruises from which the filmmakers discreetly look away. Torture's hell on the box office. Will you be moved? Possibly; I was at times, and sometimes against my better judgment. Coogan is the only actual human here, but, as in the far superior 'Philomena' (2013), he hoists the proceedings on the strength of his curmudgeonly decency. 'The Penguin Lessons' will please the kind of audiences who like to travel the world in comfort, as those PBS ads for Viking River Cruises say, but it accidentally offers those audiences uncomfortable food for thought. Cattaneo captures 1970s Argentina at a classic 'first they came for the socialists' juncture, one that might feel disconcertingly familiar once the credits roll and you check the news feed on your smartphone. Would you intervene? No amount of penguins make that question go down any easier. PG-13. At area theaters. strong language, some sexual references and thematic elements. 110 minutes. Ty Burr is the author of the movie recommendation newsletter Ty Burr's Watch List at
