Mysterious attacks in Lake Placid occur. Bridget Fonda heads out to Lake Placid to do research if there is an actual croccodile to be found in this tranquil lake. Bill Pulmann as sheriff protects her from any harm. Will they find anything or is it all a hoax? What follows is a story full of vulgar grannies, hilarious jokes and B movie reptile attacks. Oh yes, and there is also some romance going on.Who made this wonderful "Jaws" clone? Let's start by mentioning the legendary Stan Winston, THE MAN responsible for the terrific "Alien" creatures. He created the croccodile monster in this tale and it don't look scary at all. But then again this is a comedy and although there is some suspense it is mostly of the hilarious kind.I have seen it multiple times now and I keep laughing as hard as the first time. The incredible witty dialogues are to be thanked for that. Quote by a grannie living near the lake to a sherrif: "If I had a d*ck, this is where I would tell you to s*ck it". You gotta see this grannie to really enjoy this altercation with the law that wants to destroy the croccodile while the old grannie wants to cuddle the monster."Lake Placid" is much more than an average comedy. The simple story may deceive upon first look, but a lot of effort went into this picture to make it something special. This comedy truly stands the test of time and what makes it so endearing and hilarious are the terrific dialogues. The characters are credible, however stereotype they may be. The characters and the dialogue are really to die for. And when I can believe in the characters I can enjoy it again and again.At an endnote I wanna mention that lots of wise observations about croccodiles were interwoven in the dialogues. Some amazing TRUE ones: "Croccodiles have been worshipped more than other religions in ancient cultures. People thought croccodiles were godly". Well, they have been around for millions of years and they will probably outlive human beings. However in this flick croccodiles are just great material to make hilarious jokes about, topped with some witty romance with the lovely Bridget Fonda.

I like this big monster cheesy horror. It reminds me of Anaconda (1997). There is nothing wrong with it at all. It is fast paced with a little gore and some strong horror. I love to hate the characters and it is funny enough to entertain when there is no giant crocodile eating people. One of the most enjoyable giant monster movies out there. Well worth viewing.

The only redeemable things in this movie are the picturesque location of its filming and the two-dime jokes exchanged between the characters. Now with that aside we can move onto the main aspects of this doomed production. The premise to the story warms us up to the absurd context that evolves quickly, and, then even more quickly devolves after the establishment of the conflict to a climax that makes you cringe, not in suspense but at the sheer farce of a situation involving guns, puck up trucks, booby traps, a helicopter, a cow hanging from the helicopter, and, of course, a giant crocodile that seems to be popping up (conveniently enough) in all the right places at all the right times. Now, I don't know if the real intention behind the film is to be scary or funny or scientific, or all, but one thing I do know for sure, is that it fails at every one those levels. The summary to the movie is well-known. Going a little further into its timeline, we get to the scene where Kelly Scott, a museum palaeontologist, is told by her boss, Kevin, that 'some guy' gets killed up in Maine by something, probably a bear, and that they'd found a fragment of a tooth, probably belonging to the animal responsible for the guy's death, and that he wants her to go up there and examine it as to determine the kind of the animal. Oddly enough, he didn't mention that the sheriff was present when that particular killing took place, and being a mountain guy, he'd probably be familiar with the fact that bears don't attack from underwater in the middle of a deep lake. To me that was the first clue to the fact that this movie was not to be taken at face value. Even though the overall story was a crippled version of Jaws, I still found some enjoyable moments in the movie, especially those long shots of the magnificent locations. My advice? Don't count on learning anything about real life croc behaviour or the authority procedure in such a case. I also found amusement, yet again, at the oh so familiar American way of being too philosophical about everything- to kill the croc or not to kill it? Yeah, that was going for a while...

If I had to pick one movie that I believe jettisoned the current craze for schlocky creature features to where it's at now, it would be 1999's "Lake Placid." Full of ridiculous characters, gory killings, and a cameo from Betty White in which she swears not like one but several sailors, it paved the way for today's fun B-movies in the vein of "Sharknado" and pretty much any film in the Asylum catalog. A group of investigators are called to a remote lake in Maine after the mysterious death of a police officer occurs in the usually calm waters. Upon arriving, the team discovers that a crocodile has somehow made its way into the lake and is feeding on anything big enough to satisfy its appetite... whether it be animal or human. Where did the beast come from and how can they stop it before it kills again?"Lake Placid" boasts an ensemble cast of actors who looking back now would consider this slumming it by how they're viewed today. Bill Pullman portrays one of the crocodile hunters and puts forth every effort to take the material seriously. Bridget Fonda is a paleontologist who delivers an emotional performance completely unnecessary for such a lighthearted adventure romp. Brendan Gleeson plays the local sheriff and you'd never know he would grow into such a respected British thespian of cinema. Oliver Platt fully embraces his role as an eccentric rich boy obsessed with the oversized scaly lizards."Lake Placid" is rated R for violent creature attacks and related gore, and for language. There's no nudity but plenty of conversations about sex and innuendos. If you have a weak stomach when it comes to on screen carnage, you might find yourself hurrying to close your eyes at points. Clocking in at an hour and twenty-two minutes, "Lake Placid" is a great example of the term "less is more." It doesn't overstay its welcome and accomplishes what it wants to within its run time. I think its legacy of made-for-TV sequels speaks for its appeal to monster movie enthusiasts who enjoy a little humor and cheese with their severed limbs and decapitated heads.