The Penguin Lessons review – think Dead Penguins Society

You figure that something is amiss when Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) rolls up to his new gig teaching English at a boarding school in Argentina circa 1976. As he exits the taxi, he’s faced with anti-government graffiti and bombs exploding in the nearby town. He’s looking for escape as much as a paying job. As the country’s infrastructure begins to crumble and working-class freedom fighters are randomly disappeared, Michell slopes off to Uruguay in search of a lay, but ends up returning to Argentina with a Magellan penguin in his kit bag who becomes a vital teaching aid amid the mayhem. Sweet-natured, inspirational, lightly-comic hijinks ensue; think of it as Dead Penguins Society.

Coogan is still unfortunately saddled with so much baggage from his various comic personae that it’s difficult to suspend disbelief when he’s feigning earnestness, so the film never hits the heights of charm for which it’s aiming. And while there’s certainly fun to be had watching a cute penguin (named Juan-Salvador) waddling around the school, chugging sprats and mimicking his master, the film never amounts to more than a piece of superficial fluff. Beyond its message of finding the courage within yourself to allow hope to defeat despair, it also ends up being a bit of an apologia for ineffectual white men who need to experience something transformative in their lives to be able to extend empathy towards their fellow man.

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