Penelope
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Catherine O'Hara, Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage, Reese WitherspoonBrand: RICCI,CHRISTINA
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 89 minutes
Published: 2008-07-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-07-15
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; DVD; Full Screen; NTSC; Subtitled; Widescreen
Movie Reviews of Penelope
Movie Review: A Charming and Delightful Fairy Tale
Summary: 5 Stars
In this funny, cute movie, Christina Ricci stars as the young heiress Penelope. Penelope has been struck by the Wilhern family curse which causes her to have the snout and ears of a pig. The curse can only be lifted until one of her own kind loves her, which the family interprets as getting a fellow blueblood to marry her. Poor Penelope has to deal with rejection after rejection as one handsome, well-bred suitor after another pursues her for her good family name and large dowry and then flees in terror (jumping out windows to do so) as soon as he catches sight of her face. What makes it even worse is that her well-meaning but utterly shallow mother (Catherine O'Hara) is too ashamed of Penelope to let anyone but the carefully selected suitors see her daughter and keeps her isolated within the family mansion. She even went so far as to fake Penelope's death as a baby to avoid the press from getting any pictures of her cursed daughter. Furthermore, she constantly reminds Penelope that the curse is also a burden for the entire family and Penelope's goal in life is to break the curse and become prettier. Penelope's long-suffering father (Richard E. Grant) loves his daughter and is obviously exasperated by his wife's attitude, but seems too hen-pecked to stand up to his wife and insist that they allow Penelope out into the real world (the two parents remind very much of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet of Pride & Prejudice).
When one particularly excitable and nasty suitor, Edward Vanderman (Simon Woods), runs to the press with the story that there is a pig-monster in the Wilhern household, no one believes him and he is made a laughing stock of the city. However, tabloid reporter Lemon (Peter Dinklage), who lost one of his eyes attempting to get a picture of baby Penelope, believes the Vanderman heir and agrees to try and prove Penelope's existence. Lemon tracks down a handsome young gambler with the appropriate lineage, Max Campion (James McAvoy), to pose as Penelope's suitor and get a picture of her. Max and Penelope start falling for each other while Penelope is hidden behind a two-way mirror and Max starts having second thoughts about his participation in the scheme to expose Penelope. After revealing her face to Max, Penelope takes his reaction as a rejection and decides that she's tired of waiting to break a curse that she's starting to think can never be broken. So, armed with a scarf to hide her nose, Penelope runs away to experience life outside her mansion. In the city she makes friends with the eccentric bike messenger Annie (Reese Witherspoon) and sees how much she was missing out on life by hiding from everyone.
I went to see this movie with three female friends and we all completely loved it. It had a cute, whimsical feel, somewhat reminiscent of Pushing Daisies. Christina Ricci is charming as the sweet but weary Penelope and James McAvoy proves once again that he's great as the romantic lead. My favorite minor character is Lemon, who starts out as the possible villain, seeing as how he wants to expose Penelope to the world, but who is really not a bad person at all. Catherine O'Hara as the mother is a scene-stealer, although her character's tragic focus on beauty keeps her from being one of my favorite characters (what is even scarier is that there really are mothers like this out there).
The biggest complaint my friends and I had was that James McAvoy wasn't allowed to keep his Scottish accent, which was odd because the movie wasn't set in any particular city or country and several of the extras did have British accents (McAvoy did a fine American accent, but we would have preferred his original one). It was also a bit silly that the suitors were so horrified by Penelope's appearance that they'd jump out windows to escape her, considering that even with a snout Christina Ricci was still pretty darn cute. The movie also got a little cheesy near the end, but it kept itself from going completely into cheesy territory with the mother's continued shallowness. This is highly recommended for anyone who is looking for a light, diverting film and I definitely plan on buying the DVD.
Summary of Penelope
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 15-JUL-2008
Media Type: DVD
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
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