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Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
Every summer needs its monster movie - think "Jaws" - and this
one has the added comedic touch of David E. Kelley, creator of TV's
"Ally McBeal," "Chicago Hope," "L.A. Law," and "The Practice."
Bridget Fonda stars as a paleontologist who is sent from museum in New
York City to a tranquil lake in Maine to verify a shard, a supposed
fossil, which turns out to be a tooth from a primitive, mysterious
predator who has killed a member of the Fish & Game department. That's
where Bill Pullman comes in. He's the perennially cool Fish & Game
Warden. Right away, there's friction because she's not only annoyingly
phobic about the wilderness but she's also arrogantly embittered about
men and love. Then there's Oliver Platt, a rich, wacky, world-renown
mythology professor, and Brendan Gleeson, the irascible sheriff. These
neurotic, off-beat, disparate characters band together to discover
what's devouring not only the wildlife but people - on land and in
Black Lake. It turns out to be a 30-foot crocodile that has migrated
to New England and been adopted as "a pet who lives in the wild" by a
local eccentric, played by Betty White. The elusive reptile is
terrifyingly realistic - thanks to the special effects creativity of
Stan Winston ("Aliens," "Jurassic Park"). Producer/writer David
E. Kelley and director Steve Miner (sequels 2 & 3 of "Friday the
13th," "Halloween: H20") supply enough absurdly inventive satire,
derived from the eclectic characters, to keep what could have been a
prosaic horror/thriller afloat. But the title is a bit misleading -
this has absolutely nothing to do with the summer tourist haven of
Lake Placid, New York. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Lake
Placid" is a gruesome but surprising 6. It's a hip, caustic
creature-feature with an unexpectedly snappy, comedic bite.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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