330. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile; movie review

 

LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE

Cert PG

106 mins

BBFC advice: Contains mild threat

What happened to those feel-good family movies that you want to watch every year?

Pictures such as Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile used to be commonplace in cinemas but have, sadly, become rare.

Let's hope the relative box office success of Will Speck and Josh Gordon's film will inspire more.

This is a fantasy musical, starring Javier Bardem as we have never seen him before as an unusually unsexy but jolly variety performer.

As he ekes a living, he is desperate for a new element to his act which will draw in crowds and earn him huge contracts.

And then one day he comes across a signing baby crocodile ...  as you do.

He names him Lyle and the friendly croc becomes devoted to his owner as he grows and grows, singing every day in their Manhattan apartment.

Thus, the performer goes all out to raise money to put on one of the most amazing stage shows of all time - not realising Lyle suffers from stage fright.

Clearly, Lyle is in need of a friend and he appears in the form of a nervous schoolboy (Winslow Fegley) who moves into the same house as the croc with his dad (Scoot McNairy) and step mum (Constance Wu).

The relationship between the family, croc, variety performer and annoying neighbour (Brett Gelman) is at the focus of a film which warms the heart.

And there are some great tunes too with Bardem belting them out along with Sean Mendes who is the voice of Lyle.

Sure, anyone who has watched a family film will probably know where the storyline is going but that doesn't stop it being thoroughly engaging.

Last week, Miss W (she is now Mrs B) announced she is expecting our first grandchild.

I look forward to watching Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile over and over with them.

Reasons to watch: Feelgood family musical

Reasons to avoid: Slim storyline

Laughs: One

Jumps: None

Vomit: Regurgitation

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile is a children's book written by Bernard Waber first published in 1965. It is the sequel to The House on East 88th Street, published in 1962.

The final word. Will Speck: "As long as your eyes are open and your heart is open, people can come into your life, whether it’s a six-foot crocodile, or somebody in a classroom with you, or somebody down the hall, whatever it is, and infect change in you, and be a catalyst for something new and different that you didn’t expect." Film Speak

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