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All Movie Info
Starring:
Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, Simon Woods, Martin Nigel Davey, Michael Feast, Nick Frost, Burn Gorman, Nigel Havers, Lenny Henry, Richard James, Christopher Fosh, Richard Leaf, Rubria Marcheens Negrao, Russell Brand, Tallulah Evans, Tallulah Evans, Christina Greatrex, Jillian Henry, Paul Herbert, Nick Shafer, Ronni Ancona
Directed By:
Mark Palansky
Written By:
Leslie Caveny
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Penelope (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
March 4th, 2008
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'Penelope' is a fairy tale movie, and a charming one at that, about a girl with the nose of a pig. Everything else about her is normal; in fact, the porcine snout does little to mar her inherent physical attractiveness, and it is undoubtedly adorable, so while it may not make her beautiful, it does make her cute. The problem, though, is that virtually everyone who sees her runs away in fright, which is an overblown, exaggerated and silly response, but then is obviously intended to illustrate how superficial and stupid these people are, obsessed as they are with the external appearance, and not the personality. Christina Ricci, as the title character, is absolutely the right choice; she is great at playing quirky, charming characters, and Penelope certainly qualifies as that. Her abnormal appendage is the result of a curse, one that will only be lifted when she manages to find true love. Until then, she basically stays at home, with her protective (and embarrassed) parents (Catherine O'Hara, Richard E Grant). Potential suitors come, but when they actually see her, they run for the hills. Except for one, a handsome guy named Max (James McAvoy). Max arrives initially on the payroll of Lemon (Peter Dinklage), a reporter who wants pictures of Penelope. Max falls for her, but she of course finds out about him and runs off to the city, where she covers her face with a scarf, and makes a friend in Annie (Reese Witherspoon).
Annie is positively delightful, but appears much too late, and leaves much too early. It is a bit role, but Witherspoon shines in it, and she also served as one of the film's producers. Her relationship with Penelope should have been explored more thoroughly. Annie is far more interesting than Max, played by a noticeably bland McAvoy (this was made before Atonement). Dinklage is great, and so is the always reliable Catherine O'Hara, who sadly never gets to exploit the full comic potential of her part. Likewise, the movie itself is never really that funny, but is awfully sweet, even though the messages and themes contained within it are tired. I did not find it particularly memorable, but did find that it is impossible to dislike, but then it put me in a good mood and I have not seen a decent movie with Ricci in it for a long time (at least not since Black Snake Moan; OK that was not a long time ago, but you get the point).
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