The Penguin Lessons

The trailer for The Penguin Lessons looked really heartwarming so I decided to see it at the Broadway last night.  It is a charming, but superficial, character study about a man whose life is unexpectedly transformed by a penguin.  Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) is an Englishman who takes a teaching position at an exclusive school in Argentina during a military coup in 1976.  He is misanthropic and cynical, disengaged from the tumultuous political situation around him, and largely ineffective in the classroom.  While on holiday in Uruguay, he rescues a Magellanic penguin from an oil slick on the beach in order to impress a woman.  However, once the encounter with this woman is over, he tries to return the penguin to the ocean but it follows him back to his hotel and he eventually smuggles it home.  He attempts to hide the penguin, who he names Juan Salvatore, from the persnickety headmaster (Jonathan Pryce) but soon others at the school show an interest and this leads to friendships with another teacher (Bjorn Gustafsson), the school housekeeper Maria (Vivian El Jaber), and her granddaughter Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio).  He brings Juan Salvatore to class and his unruly students are captivated and see Michell in a new light.  He also uses Juan Salvatore to strike up a conversation with a military leader to advocate for the release of Sofia after she is arrested.  This is at its best when it focuses on Michell learning how to reengage with the world with the help of his penguin friend.  It is less successful when it attempts to blandly explore the politics of the region through his privileged eyes (there is even a scene where he confesses that he could have intervened when Sofia was arrested but didn't and her distraught grandmother hugs him to make him feel better).  Coogan is great in the role with his signature deadpan delivery (I laughed out loud multiple times) and, of course, the penguin is absolutely adorable.  This is an entertaining and (mostly) feel-good comedy but you can probably wait until it streams to watch it.