The Penguin Lessons – Review

Release Date – 18th April 2025, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 52 minutes, Director – Peter Cattaneo

1976, with Argentina on the verge of a military coup, English teacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) finds his worries are more focused on keeping a penguin which has followed him back to work a secret from the rest of the school.

Marketed as a light comedy about Steve Coogan inadvertently adopting a penguin, The Penguin Lessons is absolutely what you’d expect it to be, even down to the slight swerving of more serious points. Set in 1976 against the backdrop of a military coup in Argentina we see and hear about people disappearing after being arrested in the street and crammed into the back of a car. Much of this is brought more forward in the second half of the film, still put in the background of Coogan’s English teacher bonding with a penguin, eventually named Juan Salvador, which has followed him back after a few days away in Uruguay – having saved it from an oil spill in order to impress a woman (Micaela Breque).

The biggest worries for Tom (Coogan) relate to the penguin and keeping it a secret until he can hand it over to a zoo. With a ban on any pets imposed by the headteacher (Jonathan Pryce, slightly feeling as if he was in the area with a couple of days free), and therefore his job on the line, especially when cleaning staff discover his reluctantly-held pet. A familiar light dramedy plays out with a hint of quirky unlikely duo energy. It’s certainly where the film wants to lean, despite at times feeling as if it wants to get into the more serious elements of drama, but steps away with a fear of losing the seeming silver-screen target audience.

It leads The Penguin Lessons to form a perfectly fine Sunday-afternoon-with-a-cup-of-tea film. There are some occasional chuckles, although they can tend to be sparse, and what’s there is light and engaging enough for the time the film is on. Coogan puts in a good turn which helps to lead the film and make its slower moments more engaging, also helping to lift up the more familiar beats and bring more to the dramas when they play out. There is a slight confliction at times between what the film wants to focus on and where it strays for the sake of keeping an engaged audience, but Coogan generally rides it out well and acts as the main consistent throughout, and there are indeed some nice moments between him and the central penguin.

The Penguin Lessons strays away from its more serious points in favour of the lighter man-and-penguin narrative. While it means the drama doesn’t quite land the right hits Coogan’s performance helps to lift what there is, making for a film that generally works, even if in forgettable fashion.