Movie Review: "Mr. Popper's Penguins"

“Mr. Popper’s Penguins” is a pleasant pastime of a pelicula that’s nevertheless passed from your psyche within a few hours. An adaptation of the 1930s children’s book mostly in name, Jim Carrey plays a wealthy New York real estate broker tasked with taking over Tavern on the Green so his bosses can – of course – tear it down and put up a high rise. But wait… Didn’t anyone tell him the restaurant went bankrupt in 2009 and now operates as a gift shop? Ah, never mind.

Popper, who grew up with a largely absent dad, receives a crate of penguins from Antarctica as part of his father’s last will. The little tuxes naturally create havoc in his fashionable apartment, which should please all the five to seven-year-olds in the audience. Instead of turning them in to the zoo right away, or sending them back where they belong, or even wondering why his explorer father would think it a good idea to send penguins to Manhattan in the first place, Popper delights the birds with videos of Charlie Chaplin, in whom they recognize a kindred spirit of some sort. If “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” does nothing else other than get a handful of parents and kids more interested in seeing Chaplin, then I’m grateful for its existence.

But back to the movie. Popper, who is divorced from his wife (Carla Gugino), is naturally too busy to give his kids the attention they deserve, but when they go crazy over the penguins, he sees a way back into their hearts. Popper also pines for his ex, with whom he has a still chummy relationship. Will they get back together? What of Tavern on the Green? You probably know the answers.

Carrey isn’t as hyper-manic as he was back in the days of Ace Ventura, and that suits me just fine. But he sure seems like he’s struggling to keep from breaking out the talking butt gag. It must be painful to keep all that bottled inside. Maybe that accounts for the lines on his face. Either that, or he’s getting older, and I am, too.