Yes, you guessed it, summer and the inevitable kid's holidays are here once again.
It's been over 14 years since Carrey has done a live action family comedy film (1997's Liar, Liar) and despite his success with his more serious roles, he has returned to the type of movie that made him a household name.
With the likes of March Of The Penguins and Happy Feet proving profitable (Happy Feet 2 is due out soon) it's not too hard to see why Carrey's issue to overcome this time round was chosen to be the flightless birds as opposed to playing God or unable to lie.
Essentially this is a rehash of the plot of Liar, Liar where Carrey plays a father who, due to his obsession with over-achieving at work, finds himself becoming more and more distanced from his children and his ex-wife. Here though it's the arrival of 6 penguins into his ordered life and swanky New York apartment that helps him to see the light and change his ways before it becomes too late.
What stops this from ending up as a throw-away flick is quite simply, the penguins. With a sometimes hard-to-tell-apart mix of real and CGI'd feathered friends, all six are given enough different character traits to appeal to the audience - the clumsy one and farting one for the kids and the "I have a dream of flying" one for the aspirational parents. Even if they don't get a whole lot of screen time, when the penguin plot is not being explored up on the screen, the film lags slightly.
If the Carrey of old from The Mask and Ace Ventura worried or annoyed you, then the man on display here will not upset you. Here he is more reserved with no outbursts, allowing the prattfalls to be supplied by one of the penguins. Surprisingly, this lack of absurdity is missed and you long for at least one "alllrightyy then!" to liven up the average human part of the story.
An easy-to-watch movie for a family outing, you'll find that there will be more "ahh's" than "haha's" but sweet fun none-the-less.
UK release date: 05.08.11
Certificate: PG
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