Lake Placid
Lake Placid ★½ 1999 (R)
Hotshot TV producer David E. Kelley lures some acting careers into deadly peril in this lame comedy/horror ripoff of “Jaws.” Paleontologist Fonda is sent to examine a tooth after a grisly death occurs in rural Maine. She discovers that the tooth is prehistoric, but she decides to stick around with game warden Pullman, sheriff Gleeson and eccentric professor Platt anyway. You know, just in case the crocodile that escaped through a hole in the plot is still hungry after eating the fatter (and therefore more buttery) cast members. Betty White is the lone bright spot as a foul-mouthed old woman who is rooting for the crocodile. You'll be rooting for it too, but you'll be rooting for it to devour the movie exec who green-lighted this crock. 82m/C VHS, DVD . Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Mariska Hargitay, Meredith Salenger, Betty White, David Lewis; D: Steve Miner; W: David E. Kelley; C: Daryn Okada; M: John Ottman.