PENELOPE Review

PENELOPE is an wonderful fairy tale. Romantic comedy that gives you a dose of healthy lesson. Christina Ricci is perfect in this role and the plot is not quite as predictable as I thought it would be. In the same class as The Princess Bride and all the other fantasy love stories that have happy ending. This should’ve been a… Valentine movie. It’s entertaining, it’s heart-warming and it will open your eyes.

A young aristocratic heiress names Penelope is born under a curse. She has snout for a nose complete with a set of pig ears. The curse can only be broken if she can find one true love by ‘with her own kind’. Her mother desperately tries to find a suitable young man and she finds difficulties loving her daughter for the way she is. A down on his luck gambler falls for Penelope but does not want to disappoint because of the fact that he’s not a blue blood. A remarkable lesson learned is at the end of this tale.

It’s kinda difficult at first to watch Christina Ricci in this movie after remembering her daring performance in Black Snake Moan but it’s evident that she is so talented, she managed to transform herself in to this character, though ugly, is very likable. I think it’s in her eyes, Christina got these big pretty brown eyes.

Co-starring James McAvoy, veteran actress Catherine O’Hara, our favorite little person Peter Dinklage (Death at a Funeral) and produced by Reese Witherspoon, this movie has all the elements that make it a feel-good movie.
If there had been any slight change to the cast, the movie would’ve been awful.
The chemistry between James McAvoy and Christina Ricci is delightful.

Reese Witherspoon seems to be an activist when it comes to movies that emphasize the point that there is more to someone than just face beautiful. You can see it in her Legally Blonde movies and Walk The Line.
It’s as if she likes characters or stories about people who in the end feel confident about themselves and like who they are no matter what the world’s perception is on beauty.

The storyline and the themes are simple and inspiring, they promote inner beauty, the true beauty, not the outside appearance that magazines brag about these days.
Comedy-wise, this movie’s got some silly punch lines but they work, the over the top comments and situations are surprisingly funny.

The visuals are okay, they’re not meant to win any awards, they’re there simply to compliment all the other aspects of the movie and they all work well together.
There is one quick scene that might be too scary for young viewers, but overall, I’d put this movie in family friendly category.
I don’t care what the haters say, PENELOPE is a must-see.
* Place the cursor on the picture below to check my grade for this film