The Penguin Lessons

"There is a glass-half-full approach and then there is submerging reality so deeply in whimsy, sentimentality and cultural cliche that it needn’t be there at all."

"Using a distorted version of crucial historical events as a plot device that lionizes the British expat in a country that is not his own isn’t pathos, it’s objectification."

"Amusing stuff, well served by Coogan’s knack for haughty composure in the face of the absurd."

"Unexpectedly moving, its emotional manipulations fully forgivable."

"Winsome and inoffensive"

"Unfortunately, the thin story feels terribly stretched and often doesn’t make sense."

"Wants to be a thoughtful light entertainment about ideals and courage, but ends up seeming grotesquely misguided."