'The Penguin Lessons' Review: Equal Parts Funny and Charming Yet Sincere and Thought-provoking
- Becca Johnson
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Becca Johnson - April 15, 2025
Directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Monty) and starring Steve Coogan (Marie Antoinette) in the leading role, The Penguin Lessons is a fun and poignant comedy drama inspired by true events. Coogan plays Tom Michel, a world-weary English teacher who arrives in Argentina in 1976 to teach at al all-boys school. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down.
Equal parts funny and charming yet sincere and thought-provoking, The Penguin Lessons takes a while to show its true colours but really comes to life when delving into its societal themes.
There is a lot about The Penguin Lessons that is just fine and serviceable. Steve Coogan is good as teacher Tom Michel, but there are often times in which he lacks the emotion to draw us into his character. Lacking a distinct personality that could’ve injected more flair into the film, he carries things nicely but leaves behind some potential. It also suffers from including a few too many plot points and stilted scenes that really drag it down and take you out of the film. This is especially apparent during the first 15-20 minutes, with a really slow start that fails to excite audiences for what's to come. Though this time is spent developing our lead and setting the scene for the chaotic and violent late 1970’s Argentina, it prevents viewers from seeing what they came to see for too much of the run-time. It takes far too long for Tom to meet our titular penguin.
As soon as Tom finds Juan Salvador on the beach, covered in oil and looking very worse for wear, The Penguin Lessons instantly becomes more engaging. Slowly seeing the bond between Tom and the penguin develop is the films best asset, and there are many sequences that provide some fun, if tropey, animal humour. At first, Tom tries his best to palm off the penguin that he’s somehow been lumbered with, phoning local zoo’s and convincing border control that he definitely cannot take the penguin on the boat back to Argentina with him. However, the more time the unlikely pair spend together, the more friendly they become, and the changes in Tom begin. The penguin is not only a vessel for Tom’s character development, but others who inhabit the school. The once unruly kids are infatuated by him, and the teachers soon discover that sometimes, breaking the rules is worth it. There is much more to Juan Salvador than providing some cute moments (though there are definitely lots of those); he teaches, kindness, compassion, and gives many a listening ear.
What’s most surprising about The Penguin Lessons is the heavier themes it possesses. It may not be entirely obvious from the marketing, but the script really does delve into the military dictatorship that was affecting Argentina at the time. This does occasionally make things feel messy, as the fluctuation between the sweet little penguin and locals getting kidnapped and going missing can be jarring. However, once it finds its footing with this theme in the later half, it becomes a really emotional piece of film. We really get to know the locals, particularly a grandmother and granddaughter duo who clean at the school, and this increases the stakes tenfold when the events of the time threaten their family directly.
It certainly glosses over how truly awful the imprisonment and torture of these people was, perhaps even minimising their stories, but it certainly does enough to get the audience thinking and deliver tremendously heartfelt pay-off at the end. Despite feeling occasionally clunky, it’s admirable that a film centered on a penguin can also boast well-explored geopolitical and societal themes. There’s a lot of lessons in here.
The Penguin Lessons is both a fun story centering on a man and his strange yet adorable pet, and an emotional historical picture of life in Argentina under the dictatorship. The central performance is just okay and the storytelling struggles to balance its two opposing tones, but with a poignant message at the centre, some fantastic scenes involving the penguin Juan Salvador and a group of characters you really connect with, The Penguin Lessons is a pleasant surprise.
The Penguin Lessons releases in UK cinemas April 16
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