DNfromMN - Movie Review - Penelope

PENELOPE

Release Date 2/29/08
What’s the Story: Blueblood girl (Christina Ricci) is cursed to have a pig’s nose until a blueblood accepts her as she is and marries her. Because of how hideous she is, she’s kept home alone until her parents (Catherine O’Hara and Richard E. Grant) can find her a suitable mate to break the curse. A photographer who got the sharp end of a wooden spoon by pig-girl’s mama (Peter Dinklage) wants to finally get the photo he paid for with his eye, and uses down-on-his-luck blueblood (James McAvoy) to try and get it.

And that’s the first 20 minutes. It’s a romantic comedy for 10-15 year olds, and I would have guessed it was based on a kid’s book (it’s not, apparently). It reminded me of the kinds of books I read around that age – Roald Dahl / Tim Burton style. Given that it’s a romantic comedy, you know what the ending is going to be going into it.
It’s unclear where it takes place, England or America, because some people have British accents, others have American. Most have American, but it doesn’t look like any American city I’ve seen. The cast is full of C-List British stars: Owen from Torchwood, the sidekick from Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz, and some others that I recognized but don’t know their name or where I saw them.

Christina Ricci does her typical cynical role, but that’s what she’s good at, and that’s who the character is. I always thought she had a bit of a pig-nose to begin with, but they added more of a snout. Catherine O’Hara does it big and broad, and I love her. Everyone else is just having fun. Don’t be confused by Reese Witherspoon being on the poster, she has maybe a dozen lines and is in it for about 15 minutes near the end (whether that would sway you to or away from seeing it).
The soundtrack is pretty current and very heavy on the indie rock. Not sure if that was the original plan, but it works for the quirk-factor.

I liked it, the boyfriend loved it. Definitely worth seeing, but I can see an under 10 getting bored with it, and some ditzy teenagers not getting it.

If you can put up with the tweenie crowd in the theaters, it’d be a fun way to spend an evening if you want to escape. It won’t change your life, but it’ll definitely entertain.

What it’s worth: $11. I’d be happy to pay full price to see it, and maybe pick up a box of Goobers, too.