Film Review: ''Lakee Placid''

A swimmer is mauled by something that owns pre-historic teeth, while taking a dip in the still waters of the Lake Placid in Maine. This is reason enough for paleontologist Kelly Scott (Bridget Fonda) to make a trip to the place ``to look at a tooth''... And this is her first field assignment. There, she is joined by a not-so- friendly few comprising Jack (Bill Pullman), toughie Hank (Brendan Gleeson) and the eccentric mythology Professor Hector (Oliver Platt). All go in search of that `something' and discover it to be a 30-ft. crocodile that is silently stalking its prey in Lake Placid. (``It is not supposed to be here,'' they say). This huge crocodile is not without friends. He has the foul-mouthed old lady, Betty White, who feeds him a cow a day!

Now it is up to the team to either capture or kill the giant reptile. And Hector literally bulldozes them to capture it alive. The director Steve Miner and script writer David Kelly have come up with a tongue-in-cheek film that effectively blends two diverse genres - comedy and horror. This film is not without its share of gore, but there is not too much of it.

What makes ``Lake Placid'' enjoyable is the intelligent and witty dialogue. Also, there is not much of the `shock' element. And for a change the heroine does not scream all the time.

A refreshing change after a series of `animal horrors' that have been screened in the city in recent times.

SAVITHA PADMANABHAN

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Section  : Entertainment
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