MOVIE REVIEW - Mr. Poppers Penguins

Jim Carrey is back and this time it's a true family with Mr. Poppers Penguins.

Carrey has been around now in the movies for 20 years or so, and we are used to him as a comic with the rubbery face, and the silly ad-libbed one liners, and that's great fun. We've also seen a more serious Carrey at time, say Truman Show, Simon Birch and others. This is family movie Carrey, and to be fair, it's alright.

True family movies I think are hard to review. How do you truthfully find critical flaw in a movie that is clearly targeted at a very young audience? Of course, for older viewers there is going to be the eye rolling. But the idea is to laugh at the little ones that are gazing at the wonder on screen, laughing hysterically at a show made specifically for them.

Carrey stars as Mr. Popper. He is a successful real estate agent who always get the deal in New York city. He is divorced with two kids who are teens or so, and dad is always goo busy, or just not cool anymore. Until Popper's father passes away, and leaves him 6 full grown penguins from the South Pole. The kids love them. And there is plenty to love. And there are plenty of antics and tom-foolery to go around. How do you keep these penguins a secret? And do they hold the key to reuniting this family?

Carrey is funny, but not over the top here, and that's a good thing. A nice mix of scratching what he was, and channeling what he is. Carrey is now 50ish, and the Dumb And Dumber thing just doesn't work anymore. The penguins, (mix of real birds and computer generated) are funny, and give the kids much to cackle over for 90 minutes. Carrey does the real smart thing, and let's them be the star, and doesn't ramp up a competition with the animals. You always lose that one.

With a few side plots and some fun supporting cast members, Jeffery Tambor, Angela Landsbury and others, Mr. Poppers Penguins over all is good family fun. There may be a bit too much bathroom humor at times, but it's harmless. And the kids cracked up the whole time. And being honest again, it's the rare movie that garners applause at the end from the crowd. This movie got some. Not sure it deserved it, but it's more proof that kids loved it and mom and dad survived it.

Mr. Poppers Penguins. It's not a real movie, it's family fun. That's what it is. No more, no less.