Lake Placid

Campy monster-movie fast-food that pokes fun at itself. Absolutely devoid of any message, but chock full of absurd parody.

Any movie that opens with a gruff county sheriff listening to "I Think I Love You" while he fishes can't be taken seriously. And it gets far goofier than that. The dialog is a relentless parade of one-liners between the five principals: a paleontologist (Bridget Fonda), a Fish & Game guy (Bill Pullman), a croc-worshiping professor (Oliver Platt), the sheriff (Brendan Gleeson), and an eccentric hermit (Betty White). Oh, and of course, a big creature with a big attitude and a big appetite.

Great character development; and all of the characters are over the top except maybe Pullman's, whose routine nice guy persona balances with the nuts. It's a toss-up who has the most joke lines or who delivers them with the most punch; as they reel off sarcasm at the speed of a machine gun. You can almost see the actors winking at the audience, and they obviously had fun making this. Even the monster (which usually looks real) performs like a seasoned comic. The only complaint to note is that once in a while the endless arguing may wear you out.

The story, which utilizes subtle references to big creature movies like Jurassic Park and Jaws, actually manages to go somewhere. There are a few clever surprises, and the closing scene is rather unique.

No cerebral activity will be necessary in the course of watching this movie. Just settle down with some popcorn, and get ready for some good comic idiocy.

I can't tell you how much fun this movie is to watch. The cast of characters and their interactive dialog is just terrific. It has been called a bad B Movie. I hardly think that this is accurate. This film is made with skill and charm. If you laugh you do so because it was intended that you laugh. That's unbelievably hard to achieve. It's an intelligent effort with excellent Directing. I love these characters and the casting is perfect. Bridget Fonda shows us what young actresses can really offer a film. Betty White is at her best. Oliver Platt is facinating. Pullman is a great straightman. The Sheriff made the picture credible. This film will last and be seen again and again. I wish that I had made it.

I loved this dopey movie. Funny,with an absolutely hilarious performance by Betty White, an appealing Bridget Fonda (for the first time in memory), and very likeable Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Platt. Bill Pullman was fine but the least of it. What's not to like? I mean, who wouldn't want to save an alligator that's biting people in half in an unspoiled lake 25 miles from anywhere in the middle of Maine? There are so many BAD time wasting movies out there, so much violent, or inane, or vulgar, or sadistic junk that this tongue-in-cheek tale with its dotty characters and clever ending just has to be viewed as one of those times to sit back and smile broadly without guilt. This is hard to pull off, and not to be minimized.

My wife told me to get this movie. I told her it got terrible, terrible reviews. Well, we got it, I wound up watching it and enjoying it much more than I thought I would. More a comedy than a horror movie, it was pretty stupid, knew it was, and treated itself accordingly. Loved Brendan Gleeson as the sheriff, and Betty White's part, though small, was wonderfully eccentric.

An amusing take on the low-budget monster movies of the seventies, this is also a kind of follow-up to the Alligator movies of the early eighties. It wasn't a success, maybe due to the title - potential viewers may think it's a documentary about a lake - but is consistently humorous, thanks to a good cast. Fonda, as a paleontologist sent to investigate a sudden death by large teeth on the lake in question, is purposely irritating in the 'fish out of water' role. She reveals a surprising knack for comedy, the city girl from New Yawk stuck in the forest. Platt & Gleeson squabble like two long-lost overweight brothers as respectfully, eccentric millionaire & sheriff. Platt is always funny, and Gleeson matches him here. Pullman makes less of an impression, underplaying as the guy in charge. Betty White is a hoot as the foul-mouthed local old lady with a secret.

The monster in question, a 30-foot croc, stays out of sight for the first half-hour and when it does appear, it's strangely unsurprising, despite the suddenness. It's as if we've seen so many of these 'large animal' pictures by this point, this is just another one in a long line. It's a weird money shot as well, involving a growling bear, and is not as effective as it should be. Thanks to modern special FX, computer and otherwise, the croc is better realized than those of 20 years earlier. But that could be a problem: integrated into the wilderness like any other animal, there's nothing about the creature, despite its size, to inspire awe or real terror. It's just a big crocodile, after all. Like "Anaconda", this inspired a slew of big croc & alligator movies for the Sci-Fi Channel. UPDATE: Speaking of which, a sequel came out on the SF channel in late April, 2007.