Reviews (1)

You can't go wrong with Jessica Alba
To some this movie will not appeal. Some might even go as far to say that it is completely beyond redemption because of its views of the future and its terrible plot line. But I say its got one huge redeming quality and that is Jessica Alba. ... Read more

Reviews (182)

So bad it's good

=>This movie is horrible (0 stars) yet so entertaining (5 stars) at the same time. (I'm not going to bother listing the actors)It follows a NY bitch, hick sheriff, eccentric man, and boring Fish & Game rep as they attempt to capture a gigantic man-eating crocodile. The characters are such morons it's laughable. For example, even though one diver was eaten the idiots go out on a tiny boat and dive and attempt to find out about the crocodile and attract it at the same time. I find Pullman lame (he does a bad job) and the Sheriff hilarious. The character interaction is great. In fact, they're all morons that hate each other, which makes it funnier. The eccentric man tries to swim with the gigantic crocodile because he thinks it's godly. There's a senile old woman the still feeds her "pet" even though it ate her husband. The special effects are mediocre at best. What do you get when you take a few hicks and a few big city yanks together with a man-eating croc? A stupid movie that is highly entertaining (aka laughable).
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Comic horror which undeservedly bombed in theaters
Written by David E. Kelley, the mastermind behind television's Ally McBeal and The Practice (both of which won Emmys in the "best of" categories last year), _Lake Placid_ is a comic horror film about the search for a giant crocodile, inexplicably living in a landlocked lake in upstate New York.

When a diver is eaten alive in the opening moments, by some unknown creature, the local game warden (Pullman) teams up with a paleontologist (Fonda) from New York to find the beast. Add to this mix an eccentric millionaire philanthropist with a penchant for swimming with "crocs" (Platt), and the local sheriff (Brendan Gleeson), who thinks the man is nuts, and you've got the recipe for one of the more underrated of last summer's films.

This is a horror film and it can, at times, get quite messy (see the opening attack sequence, for example). The special effects work is about what you'd expect in such a film, although with the advent of computer graphics, it's a lot easier to bring a realistic giant crocodile to life. Surprisingly, though, there are few deaths in the film.

The emphasis is more on suspenseful moments of the Jaws variety, in which we wonder whether unlucky swimmers are about to become lunch. And, there are even a couple of gross, but funny moments in the film, as when an eccentric old lady (played by Betty White) offers random farm animals as sacrifices to the croc.

But the real emphasis in the film is on the humor and there are some great conversations and arguments among the film's characters, particularly Platt's whacko croc-swimmer and Brendan Gleeson's sheriff (in one of the more unusual bits of casting, as the Irish Gleeson is forced to adopt an American accent, which tends to slip in some of the more heated moments). And White's character is also played for laughs (you'll be surprised at some of the inventive curses she comes up with).

The film wasn't particularly well-received when first released last summer, but luckily, with its release on video, this can be remedied. This is not a film for everyone's tastes, but if, like me, you occasionally hunger for a "giant-animal-runs-amuck" film, _Lake Placid_ more than fills the bill.

More Funny than Scary
I am looking for this movie because I want to buy it for my son who has seen "Jaws" already for the millionth time and I am afraid he will wear the disc out if I don't get him another comprable movie. This is the movie that I thought of that can match "Jaws" becuase it's sort of that fun, boo-scare-you, flick. It doesn't take itself seriously and the movie is full of interesting characters played by big name actors. What stood up for me is Betty White. Hands down she is the gem of this movie. It's like she won the "funny lines" lottery when they handed out the scripts. She plays a Lake resident who's husband is missing and the way she finally tells what happenned to him was so funny I was rolling on the floor. Oliver Platt got annoying, a little bit but thank god Bridget Fonda and Bill Paxton interceded with their likeable characters. I've rented this movie when it first came out on DVD and thought about buying it to include in my slumber party collection and I think this is the way this movie is going to get resurrected, through people who have a enough sense of humour and who knows what an excellent "giant animal ran amok" movie is all about. Gingerly place this next to your "Jaws," "Godzillas," "Tremors" on your DVD shelf, it belongs there.

Watch It on TV
Watch this at least once, just to hear Betty white cursing like an old salt. Then watch Hard Rain to see her as a crazy old broad out to kill looters. Then burn both films.
Let's be serious here. The psuedo-religious crocodile worshiping stuff by Oliver Platt was not needed. The idea of a crocodile living as far north as Maine is utterly laughable (damn, if they'd set it in SC or NC, I MIGHT have been able to suspend my disbelief)and the strategies used to catch it are even worse (dangle a live cow from a helicopter anyone?). Have the people involved with this film EVER seen Reptile Wild or any other program on National Geographic?

Betty White Rocks!
A Fish and Game worker is doing a survey of beavers in a placid lake with the local sherrif when he suddenly becomes half the man he was and dies. Local law enforcement, Fish and Game, and a New York museum worker set out to discover what happened. They are soon joined by an eccentric millionaire who loves crocodiles.

Is there a crocodile in the lake? At first few believe that such a thing could be until hard evidence shows up. The Crocodile is not an ordinary one, it is thirty feet in length. The camp is quickly split between those who want to kill it and those who want to save it. To learn it's fate you will have to watch the film.

This is a very well-done piece of work. The characters are interesting and there is just enough sarcastic humor to really lighten the mood. Betty White plays a foul-mouthed local resident and her delivery of her "I'm rooting for the crocodile" line is an instant classic. This is a fun film and far from typical. It is not just a giant-lizard-eating-people film. Check it out. ... Read more