| Product: |
Lake Placid (DVD) |
| Date: |
12/03/07 (127 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Funny, silly, great banter between characters
Disadvantages: Slightly silly ending, pointless love interest sub-plot, you'll either love it or hate it
What’s it about?
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After a grisly death at Lake Placid, a Fish and Game Authority official is called in to help the local sheriff investigate. They are joined by a museum expert interested in the origins of a tooth found in the lake.
Who’s in it?
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The two big names are Bill Pullman as Fish and Games’ Jack Wells and Bridget Fonda as prissy museum expert Kelly Scott. In reality, these two are probably the dullest members of the cast. Pullman brings his usual laid back attitude to the role and always appears a little distant and somewhat emotionless. Fonda on the other hand is given little to do other than tag along behind the men, moaning about being outdoors and screaming occasionally. Whilst there is some humour to be mined from this, it’s not enough to make you care about the character.
The really meaty roles are chewed up and swallowed by the support cast. Brendan Gleeson is brilliant as local sheriff Hank Keough – an essentially decent bloke, but one who you feel is always a couple of paces behind everyone else! The delivery of his lines and his sense of timing, however, are impeccable, and he makes Hank by far the most likeable member of the cast.
Oliver Platt plays rich, spoilt and arrogant crocodile expert Hector Cyr with real zest. Highly sarcastic (“they conceal that kind of information in books”) and self-centred, Platt is brilliant – especially in his scenes with Gleeson. Their hate-hate relationship adds real zip to the film!
Also good fun is ex-Golden Girl Betty White as foul-mouthed, eccentric Mrs Bickerman. Playing against her goody-two-shoes image, White is clearly having the time of her life, even though she is only actually in a couple of scenes!
Is it any good?
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Lake Placid is one of those films that will divide opinion. You will either love it or hate it – there’s very little in between!
For a start, it’s a horror-comedy – often a tricky genre, as one element tends to overwhelm the other. And, sure enough, with Lake Placid, the comedy element is stronger than the horror. However, there are moments of genuine tension (although jump-out-of-your-seat moments are rare, unless you are of a particularly nervous disposition!) There are a few moments of gore but nothing that will trouble anyone who has seen a horror movie within the last 20 years or so.
It’s the comedy element of this film, though, which makes it. It’s not funny in the sense that characters get themselves into stupid situations or are constantly cracking jokes. Nor is it a clever-clever horror comedy in the Scream vein. Rather, it’s the interplay between the characters and the slightly sarcastic, black sense of humour which makes it entertaining. Characters bicker, fight and needle each other, even as they are facing peril. Then there are the slightly surreal lines: “Don’t worry ma’am. We know what we’re doing”, followed immediately by “we’ve got a cow hanging from a helicopter.” How can you possibly not love a film which features such dialogue! All the lines are under-delivered (i.e. they’re not said in a showy “I’m going to make a joke now” way) and under-written (i.e. they credit the audience with enough intelligence to work out for themselves that a joke has been cracked and don’t feel the need to explain it).
As you’ll probably have gathered by now, Lake Placid doesn’t take itself too seriously. It knows it’s a silly little film and revels in it. Instead, it just gets on with having fun with its silly concept and, as a result, you do too. Everyone is clearly in on the joke and enjoying themselves immensely, sending up the action/horror genre in an affectionate way.
Importantly, however, the film is short – coming in at a crisp 82 minutes. Good though the humour is, if the film had insisted on an extended running time, it would have worn very thin. As it is, you’re still enjoying it by the end.
Of course, it’s not perfect. Although it is short, the ending is a little silly (although not necessarily any sillier than what has gone before!) and slightly over-blown. You get the impression that the writers wanted to end with an exciting set piece, but weren’t quite sure how to do it.
The film also betrays its (relatively) low budget origins when it comes to the CGI effects, which at times look a little dodgy. This is particularly true during the bear attack sequence. That said, like Jaws, the creature isn’t actually seen all that much, so it doesn’t spoil the film and anyway, the effects are passable – just not great!
Finally, there’s my usual bugbear: the love interest. In the midst of all the banter, humour and mayhem, we have to endure a burgeoning romance between Kelly and Jack. It adds nothing to the plot and is completely unnecessary. Yet again, I ask: why does Hollywood feel the need to do this? OK, so I’m not the most romantic soul in the world, but I don’t mind romantic elements where they contribute something (some emotional depth or feeling) to the film. Here, it’s just tacked on because Hollywood convention demands it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Conclusion
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As I said at the start, this is a film that you’ll either love or hate. My advice to you would be to watch the first 10-15 minutes or so, and then see how you feel. If you get past the scene where they are packing up the car (“She’s rude-sarcastic. You two should get on”) and haven’t laughed, switch off, because you won’t enjoy the rest. If you have laughed, keep watching, because it gets better!
Basic Information
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Lake Placid
1999
Director: Steve Miner
Running Time: approximately: 82 minutes
Certificate: 15
See This if You Liked…
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Eight Legged Freaks
Arachnophobia
Snakes on a Plane
Trivia
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Watch out for a couple of cheeky homage to Jaws. First of all, the opening sequences features a riff on the Jaws theme. Later on, the helicopter is attacked whilst on the water – just like the sequence in Jaws 2!
© Copyright SWSt 2007
Summary: Could have been a load of old croc, but it ain't!
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