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List Price: $25.99 | | Label: Summit Entertainment
Salesrank: 2657
Released: July 15, 2008 |
| Our Price: $4.59 |
| Used Price: $2.94 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, a lonely heiress who has spent her entire life trying to break a strange family curse that left her with the nose of a pig. When she meets a charming aristocrat (James McAvoy) who seems to see beyond her physical appearance, Penelope begins to learn that loving herself is more important than breaking the curse. Also starring Reese Witherspoon and Catherine O'Hara, Penelope is a delightful modern-day fairy tale for the entire family.
Description of Penelope:
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
Penelope Reviews:
Pig love. 
2009-10-22 - Penelope is a strange romantic film. Christina Ricci and James McAvoy have wonderful chemistry but I felt letdown by this coming-of-age fantasy. The story is a bit wooden and forced, it was difficult for me not to lose interest within the first 30 minutes. Reese Witherspoon also stars and produced this film, I just love her bumble bee costume at the Halloween party - her character is funny and edgy, Reese saves this film in my opinion. Great acting but I was expecting so much more, it's a mixed bag for me.
Review of Penelope 
2009-10-20 - I bought this movie because our 17 year old son recommended it. He watched it at a friend's home and said it was good enough to buy. My husband and I liked it very much. It is a make-believe magical story set in our contemporary world. It had good humor, no bad language except for 3-4 less offensive swear words, no immorality shown and it also showed human behavior at its worst and best. I especially liked the three leads: Penelope, the young man she eventually dates and marries, and Penelope's mother. All fine actors.
blandly predictable modern-day fairy tale 
2009-10-06 - **1/2
Due to a curse that was placed on her family in the 19th Century, an otherwise attractive British high society blueblood by the name of Penelope Wilhern was born with pigs' ears and a snout. This, as one would imagine, has put something of a damper on the poor girl's dating life, since prospective romantic partners invariably run screaming out of the room the moment they first lay eyes on her. Enter Johnny, a scruffy, down-on-his-luck compulsive gambler hired by an investigative reporter to infiltrate Penelope's house to see if the rumors of a pig-nosed girl residing therein are indeed true. But can this principled cad help falling in love with the "real," "beautiful" Penelope who lies just beneath the surface of this grotesquely swinish exterior? (Though, if truth be told, if you`re going to be stuck going through life with a pig-nose, you could do a lot worse than the one Penelope is forced to put up with here).
As to "Penelope" itself, it doesn't bode well for any film when most of the minor players have English accents and most of the major ones do not - especially when, without exception, everyone is ostensibly playing a British character. Beyond that, this "beauty is only skin deep" parable hasn't been accorded the wit or imagination it would actually need to be successful. The fairy tale ambiance has been reasonably well adapted to the modern scene, but the narrative arc that comes along with it could hardly be more transparent or predictable.
In addition, the movie, written by Leslie Caveny and directed by Mark Palansky, is replete with overwrought slapstick scenes of people screaming, running, diving out of windows, etc. at the mere sight of Penelope's face - scenes that, quite frankly, feel as if they were lifted straight out of an episode of "The Munsters."
Still, an appealing cast, made up of the likes of Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, Catherine O`Hara, and Simon Woods, at least makes the movie watchable - if you`re in the mood for this sort of thing, that is.
This is an amazing movie! 
2009-10-05 - I LOVED THIS MOVIE! Definitely one of my top favorites. It was a nice modern fairy tale that anyone will enjoy. I recommend it to everyone. Christina Ricci and James McAvoy give amazing performances!
Loved it!
2009-09-25 - I found the book form a couple years ago at my library and waited and waited for the movie to come out, having thoroughly enjoyed the book. Never got my hands on it, so took a chance the movie would be as good as the bk and bought it sight unseen. I was not disappointed. If you like fantasy, romance and humor, you can't go wrong with this light-hearted movie. (And the book is well worth it, too.)
