When the name David E. Kelley pops up, its usually in relation to one of the many incredible TV shows he created – Ally McBeal, The Practice, Doogie Howser, M.D., etc. His name rarely pops up when it comes to films. That’s why it was likely a big surprise to crowds in 1999 to see his name pop up on a creature feature. Director Steve Miner, on the other hand – also someone whose name is attached to incredible TV like The Wonder Years – comes up more often when it comes to horror films, having started working with Wes Craven before jumping into the Friday the 13th films. But was this film what audiences were looking for? Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Aquatic Killers series with Miner’s 1999 film Lake Placid.
We talk about the nature of this film and why it seemed so strange coming from Kelley. We look at how the characters work as compared to how the film works for us overall and find the creature feature portion is fun but some of the character writing feels far too stereotypical. We discuss the passion Stan Winston had for the project and how incredible his creation looks, particularly when paired with CG. Not to mention the cow. We touch on the complexities of filming in a lake and why they ended up making their own lake front in a giant tank up in Canada. We look at what the actors are doing – Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Brendan Gleeson, and Oliver Platt – and how well they do with Kelley’s dated writing. And of course we discuss Betty White and what she’s bringing to the party.
It’s a fun romp that satisfies Andy a lot more than it does Pete, but we both have a lot of fun talking about it on this week’s show. Check it out then tune in! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins!
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Film Sundries
- Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • YouTube
- Script Transcript
- Original theatrical trailer
- Original poster artwork
- Flickchart
- Letterboxd
