Celebrity shrink Dr. Phil is posing as popular: For his 60th birthday today, he arranged for his own "surprise" birthday party at a Beverly Hills Hotel, to be broadcast as a very special episode on the Dr. Phil Show.
He enlisted wife Robin to host the faux surprise bash, asking the trophy spouse if she was planning an "event" for his birthday. Since his one 1000th episode two years ago drew large audiences, he decided to give his viewers another very special Dr. Phil Show, with hopes of repeat blockbuster ratings.
"Leave it to Phil to plan his own surprise party," a source told dubious tabloid National Enquirer, adding, "Phil even practiced his 'shocked look' for when he walked into the room."
With 2009 earnings of $80 million, you'd think the Oprah Winfrey Show alumnus could buy better friends. Old bud Britney Spears may still be miffed over his exposé of the pop princess' breakdown following an exclusive interview with her during a 2008 stint in rehab. Dr. Phil has been a staunch critic of pornography, but we imagine that included in the surprise committee is his son Jay McCraw and wife Erica Dahm, one of the famous Playboy Playmate triplets
Dr. Phil earned his M.A. and Ph.D. from North Texas State University and has penned 13 self-help books aimed at weight loss and relationships, such as Love Smart: Find the One You Want - Fix the One You Got. Perhaps he could use a course in party planning.
Photo by Andrea Resmini / courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
Steve Coogan in The Penguin Lessons.
The beauty of movies is that they can often expose a mass audience to stories that would otherwise be forgotten. The tale told in The Penguin Lessons is not that remarkable on the surface, but it holds a deeper meaning to it that the film demonstrates through its relaxed but insightful storytelling.
Set in Argentina just as President Isabel Martínez de Perón is being overthrown in 1976, it centers on Tom Michell (Steve Coogan), who arrives as the new English teacher at St. George’s, a school in Buenos Aires. His initial teaching style is, shall we say, lacking, as he shows little interest in making the boys in his class behave or learning the proper way to coach them in rugby.
When unrest related to the military coup forces the school to go on break, Tom travels to Uruguay for an unplanned vacation. An attempt at picking up a woman there instead leads to a discovery of an oil-covered penguin on a beach, which immediately bonds with him. Essentially forced to bring it back with him, the presence of the penguin at the school changes his teaching and much more.
Directed by Peter Cattaneo and adapted by Jeff Pope from the book by the real-life Michell, the film is a crowd-pleaser with political undertones. The character of Tom is a misanthrope, so it’s easy to predict early on that the penguin will not only thaw his somewhat frozen heart, but also open up his eyes to how he could be living his life in more meaningful ways.
But the inherent politics of the story changes the dynamics of the film. Tom strikes up a friendship with Maria (Vivian El Jaber) and Sofia (Alfonsina Carrocio), a grandmother and granddaughter who are housekeepers at the school, and when Sofia is kidnapped off the street for protesting against the new government, it alters the tone of the film considerably. The lighthearted nature that comes with the presence of the penguin is juxtaposed with much more serious situations, providing an interesting balance to the movie.
Of course, most of the charm of the film comes from how they use the penguin, and that aspect never gets old. There’s just something about seeing the (well-trained) penguin following Tom around, gobbling up fish fed to it by the students and others, or just standing benignly as multiple people pour out their feelings to it that brings a smile to your face. The filmmakers succeed in avoiding sappiness, proving genuinely heartfelt sentimentality instead.
Coogan’s career has featured a number of zany characters, but he plays this role with a good amount of subtlety. Even when Tom softens over time, Coogan keeps him stoic, which works well for both the character and the film. Jonathan Pryce gets a few good scenes as the school’s headmaster, but El Jaber winds up as the heart of the film as the bond between Maria and Tom evolves.
The Penguin Lessons is an easy watch with lots of superficial pleasurable elements. It’s not designed to be an ultra-dramatic story, but when it chooses to go down that road, it’s equally effective in those moments as it is when it just wants to show viewers a cute penguin.
