Penelope (2008)

Taking cues from Beauty and the Beast and Cyrano de Bergerac, director Mark Palanksy debuts with a slight, if fanciful confection. Produced by Reese Witherspoon and written by Leslie Caveny, Penelope begins with the phrase, "Once upon a time...," making it clear the proceedings owe more to fantasy than reality. Due to a family curse, Ricci's sweet-natured heiress sports a pig snout instead of a normal nose. Since surgery isn't an option--it would sever her carotid artery--her parents (Christopher Guest favorite Catherine O'Hara and an underused Richard E. Grant) hide her from the world for 25 years. Penelope can only break the spell through "one who will love her faithfully," but none of the local bluebloods will have her. One fateful day, while her face is hidden, she meets musician-turned-gambler Max (Atonement's James McAvoy in a winning performance). Sparks fly, until she finds he's only cozying up to her on orders from tabloid reporter Lemon (The Station Agent's Peter Dinklage), so Penelope runs away from home. The city she enters looks much like modern-day London--Amélie's Michel Amathieu served as cinematographer--except most everyone speaks with an American accent (then again, the film is a fable). The aspiring horticulturist befriends spunky courier Annie (Witherspoon) and reconnects with Max, who harbors secrets of his own. Once people become accustomed to her unconventional looks, Penelope's future starts to brighten. Like Enchanted, Palanksy's first feature gives the romantic comedy a refreshing--and empowering--fairytale twist. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Amazon.com

Penelope Needs to Stay Hidden

Penelope seemed like it would have been a good movie due to
Christina Ricci. However I would have to say I was very disappointed in the whole storyline. The storyline I thought lacked a lot of substance. The storyline is basically Ricci is born and due to being the first girl born to the family she has a curse on her due to her grandfathers screwup. She stays hidden waiting on someone that is well off to marry her which is supposedly a way of breaking the curse. I won't spoil the story further but I would say I definately would have walked out of the theater after viewing about 20 minutes of the movie. July 29, 2008

I loved this movie...for the most part

What I loved:

Penelope's sweetness and her every girl struggles, whether her looks or her mom or the very volatile combination.
The supporting characters were entertaining, most of them, anyway.
Quirky and attractive sets and wardrobe.
The fairy tale aspects.
The overall cleanliness of language and low crudeness level. There were only two comments that were suggestive and both were more double-entendre than outright crude.
Clever writing and storytelling.
Max's soulful eyes.
Mean people got theirs.


What I didn't love

The emphasis on drinking -- I was amazed at how many scenes had a character either talking about drinking or actually doing it.
Penelope's friends weren't really developed as friends.
The key relationship for Penelope was either not fleshed out enough or was resolved too quickly.
Her parents stayed in fairy tale la-la-land but Penelope grew up.

I will buy this film because I loved more than I didn't, and my kids are older. You might want to preview if drinking is a hot button for you. I think Penelope is supposed to be a fairy tale designed with a message for girls, but then it also tried to appeal strongly to adults. I'm not sure it's the healthiest mix. July 28, 2008

Wonderful film!

This film is so enjoyable to watch. The story is of a girl who is born in a wealthy, famous family who has a curse on them that the first baby girl born will be born with a pig's nose. Christina Ricci plays Penelope, and her performance is flawless. Her character is someone you just root for the entire film, and it is so amazing that her will is so strong and her reactions to her deformity is so different than those of the people around her. I won't say more because I don't want to give too much away! But, I was not sure how I would like this movie, but I loved it. Its insipiring, and not only a fun film to watch, its also so beautiful. The art directing and the camera work are so gorgeous, and the movie has this fantasy/ fairy tale quality, while at the same time feeling modern and present-day. I would highly recommend this movie for its acting from Ricci, and Reece Witherspoon, and James McAvoy, the characters, moral, and sheer entertainment. July 27, 2008

Self-Esteem Lessons Inform a Modern-Day Fractured Fairy Tale with a Game Cast

Considering she played a white-trash nymphomaniac chained to a radiator in the last film I saw with her, Black Snake Moan, I was actually relieved to see Christina Ricci play a sheltered girl of standing born with a pig's snout in this whimsical 2008 parable about self-acceptance. Directed by first-timer Mark Palansky and written by sitcom veteran Leslie Caveney (Everybody Loves Raymond), the film was shelved for over a year until it was released in February to mostly apathetic reviews. That's a shame since there is a certain charm generated by the fractured fairy tale being told. Palansky shows a surprisingly light touch for someone who has apprenticed under the aegis of Michael Bay on bombastic schlock like Pearl Harbor and Armageddon, but Caveney's screenplay frequently comes across as plodding and repetitive when the story should feel beguiling. Still, it somehow saves itself by the end thanks primarily to a game cast.

The plot follows the sad tale of Penelope Wilhern, an heiress subject to a multi-generational curse when her 19th-century ancestors refused to allow one of their own to marry a servant girl. As the first girl born in the family since that injustice, Penelope is burdened with a pig's snout and can return to normalcy when a fellow aristocrat vows to love her for life. Her obsessive, superficial mother Jessica hides Penelope away in the mansion, even faking her death when a tabloid photographer threatens to take a picture. As Penelope comes of age, Jessica uses a professional matchmaker to line up potential suitors, but they all jump out the window when they see Penelope's supposedly hideous face. One particular aristocrat goes public with what his sighting of Penelope, but of course, there is another candidate, a disheveled, gambling jazz pianist named Max, who does fall in love with her. I was wondering why producer Reese Witherspoon didn't cast herself in the title role given her box office clout, but Ricci is the more suitable choice with her otherworldly stares and naturally pouty manner.

The problem is that Ricci (beyond not being a proven bankable draw) looks like she has intentionally applied prosthetic makeup to herself. Rather than looking grotesque, she just looks cartoonishly cute. Witherspoon does cast herself but in a small role as Annie, a Vespa-riding messenger who is Gregory Peck to Ricci's Audrey Hepburn on Penelope's Roman Holiday-style adventure. Witherspoon hasn't been this relaxed and likable since she became a star. As Max, the omnipresent James McAvoy (who seems to be suffering from the same level of overexposure Jude Law did a few years back) is more in his element here than as the smitten, heroic soldier in Atonement. In what feels like a nod to her role as the panicked mother in Home Alone, the redoubtable Catherine O'Hara generates most of the laughs as Jessica, but her constant shrieking gets repetitive. Peter Dinklage has a few nicely sinister moments as the tabloid photographer. The eclectic soundtrack is highlighted by the Sigur Ros' Hoppípolla. The only significant extra on the 2008 DVD is a disposable six-minute making-of featurette. July 21, 2008

Lovely from start to finish!

I really, really enjoyed this movie. I don't buy movies often, but after I saw this movie in the theater I just knew I had to own it. Girls have so many toxic "role models" thrust upon them and sadly they end up hating and starving their bodies at very early ages. Penelope is a movie all about learning to love yourself just as you are, and girls definitely need more of those positive messages nowadays.
From a technical aspect- the movie is visually stunning. All the colors pop and it really contributes to the fairy tale feeling of the film. This film has a little something for everyone in it. July 18, 2008

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