Netflix viewers praise 'charming' comedy that has them doubled over laughing 'in first 45 minutes'
A ‘charming’ British comedy-drama described as being stuffed with laughs in its first 45 minutes has just landed on US Netflix mere months after its cinematic release.
2025 has been a big year for wholesome movies; The Ballad of Wallis Island melted our hearts, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy re-introduced us to our favorite leading lady, and Superman taught us how cool it can be to be kind.
Another 2025 flick that may have gone under the radar has just arrived on Netflix - and it stars Joker: Folie à Deux and Alan Partridge icon Steve Coogan, with the Academy Award-nominated Sir Jonathan Pryce in support.
The Sony Pictures Classics release, which premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, also features Vivian El Jaber, Björn Gustafsson and, surprisingly, a real-life penguin.
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The film, titled The Penguin Lessons, is based on Tom Michell’s heartwarming memoir of the same name.
The Penguin Lessons chronicles a British teacher’s unexpected bond with a Magellanic penguin, whom he rescued from an oil spill in the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este.
The itinerant educator, played by Coogan, takes the animal to his hotel room to clean him up and later tries to release him back into the ocean.
But the penguin has other ideas and returns to Michell. Eventually, the cutie, named Juan Salvador, is introduced to Michell’s class at St. George’s College, an exclusive school for boys in Argentina.
Check out the trailer below:
We won’t spoil the rest of the plot, but you can trust Netflix subscribers when they say they ‘laughed so much in the first 45 minutes’ of the movie.
“Yes just finished it and now thinking of reading the book,” said one Redditor. “This movie is amazing, the comedy, the drama, the penguin. I mean, what else do you need!”
Over on X, someone else wrote: “I stumbled across The Penguin Lessons on Netflix and now am trying to watch any and all movies involving penguins.”
“@netflix The Penguin Lessons absolutely brilliant 10 [star emoji]. Highly recommend,” a third commented.
A fourth typed: “Surprise gem from this year. Much more than just Alan Partridge with a penguin. A devastating, funny and charming British comedy-drama with a waddling star.”
“The Penguin Lessons is such a sweet movie. I should adopt a penguin right away,” another penned.
If you needed more convincing, then The Penguin Lessons currently holds a solid 76 percent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. It also has an average of 3.5 stars on Letterboxd.
59-year-old Coogan, who has worked with everyone from Dame Judi Dench to Eddington’s Joaquin Phoenix, detailed what it was like to have a real-life penguin as a co-star earlier this year.
“You learn to be patient,” he told The Radio Times. "Because you can't blame a penguin if it goes this way and you want it to go that way. So you learn to just wait, and you have to be meditative if you're not going to become frustrated.”
He added that appearing with the animal in Peter Cattaneo’s project was more of a ‘serene place’ compared to other film sets he’s worked on.
If you're hoping for more Coogan in 2025 then good news: the father-of-one has the six-part Alan Partridge: How Are You? heading to the small screen ASAP.
His next feature film, Saipan, is also slated for a 2026 release. It will see him portraying Mick McCarthy, former Republic of Ireland manager who famously feuded with Ireland captain and former Manchester United icon Roy Keane ahead of the 2002 Men's FIFA World Cup.
The Penguin Lessons is now available to stream on Netflix US.
Topics: Film and TV, Netflix, Social Media, Celebrity, Entertainment
Ella Scott