 | STARRING: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy |
Penelope stars Christina Ricci, who proved that she had a lot more acting talent that I thought in last years’ Black Snake Moan. Generations ago, a witch sought revenge on the Wilhern family by placing a curse on the family. The curse stated that the next girl born in the family would have the face of a pig, until one of her own kind was able to fall in love with her. Ricci plays the title character Penelope, who was the first girl born in the family, sporting the nose and ears of a pig, neither of which can be removed through surgery. Peneope’s mother Jessica, played by Catherine O'Hara, fakes Penelope’s death in order to raise her in secret, away from the prying eyes of doctors, scientists, and tabloid journalists. Once Penelope turns 18, Penelope's mother begins the process of finding another “blueblood” who will marry her daughter. A succession of guys are brought to the home to meet Penelope, and are forced to sign contracts stating that they will never reveal her condition. All of these men end up running away at the sight of Penelope. One tabloid reporter, played by little man Peter Dinklage, is determined to get the first picture of Penelope. He hires Max, James McAvoy, to pretend to be a suitor in order to snap that picture. Max begins to take a liking to Penelope and refuses to hand over said picture. Upon learning that Max was hired to come meet her, Penelope decides to steal mom’s credit card and move out on her own, always keeping her face covered with a scarf. That doesn’t last long, as soon the scarf is off and Penelope’s picture is all over the newspapers. But to her entire family’s shock, people like Penelope and she becomes a local celebrity. A former suitor jumps back into the picture, offering to marry Penelope so that the curse can be broken. Soon thereafter, Max is back in the picture as well. What is poor Penelope to do now that she has two men to choose from?
The best thing this film has going for it is the cast. It’s a silly, predictable, story. The cast does their best to elevate it. Reese Witherspoon even shows up as a messenger who befriends Penelope soon after she leaves home. Ricci and MacAvoy do their best, and Dinlage is my favorite little man in Hollywood. But the movie tries to hard too be sweet, and is just too predictable. Ricci doesn’t even look that bad as Penelope, so it never makes sense when guys even jump through windows to get away from her. Those scenes are meant to be funny, but aren’t. The movie is based on a children’s book, but I couldn’t get a sense as to whether or not the children at the screening enjoyed it. It's not going to be easy to market this film, which is probably why it has been on the shelf for so long. It's not completely clear who the target audience is, although in general terms it's a family film. Wait for the DVD.
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