Penelope

I saw this at a NY preview, and it was very much worth my time.

Cristina Ricci was excellent. I thought it was brave and smart of her to take on this role, and given the make up and costume she was very expressive and genuine – eyes, eyes, eyes. If any of you have seen "Pumpkin" this character would be a polar opposite of that role, but just as tongue and cheek, and just as much fun.

James McAvoy looked great, as was his performance. Christina and James had sparks that were believable. The supporting cast was also fun and fanciful. Catherine O'Hara played an excellent zany Mom which was more believable and real, in a weird way, then her role in Beetle Juice, (a film I adore.) Reese Witherspoon, was strong as usual, even in this odd, small supporting role (given her filmography). She looked great as a lower east side character. The only disappointment was Richard E. Grant, and not by his doing. There was no chance for him to shine given the part. Something tells me he got lost on the cutting room floor. A zero role for him given his talent.

In sum, I am one for magic and fables, so for me this was a very enjoyable film. I forgot the time which is the best test of all. Bravo!

I saw this movie last year at a screening, but it has taken me awhile to submit a comment on here.

I LOVED THIS MOVIE!!! It is a wonderful story with a great message that needs to be heard in this modern age.

I assume it will be targeted toward teens, but as a 36 year old, I really enjoyed it. It might be one of Ricci's best performances, as good as Black Snake Moan, but completely different roles. James McAvoy is charming. Catherine Ohara, Reese Witherspoon and Peter Dinklage are nice surprises and always funny when they appear. Overall, very enjoyable. It is somewhat predictable, but it has to have a happy ending.

I saw "Penelope" at the US premiere at CineVegas last week. It has a very sweet message about self-acceptance that we could all use a little more of these days. I loved the hyper- real, brightly colored, Tim Burtonesque look of the film, it helped to accentuate the fairy tale aspect.

I also thought all of the performances, especially Christina Ricci and Katherine O'Hara, were excellent. Reese Witherspoon as a leather wearing, gum chewing, scooter riding messenger girl seemed a bit miscast, but she was actually good and had one of the funnier lines of the film.

While there's nothing laugh out loud funny, this sweet story makes you smile again and again.

I would recommend this film for audiences of all ages because I don't think you're ever too old for it's message and it doesn't talk down to an adult audience.

What a lovely creature Christina Ricci is. Even with a pig's snout stuck to her face, I found her to be completely entrancing. She was certainly the only reason I decided to give this modern-day fairy tale a go and, on the whole, I'm fairly glad that I did. It has its weaknesses, for sure, the main one being that it can't seem to settle on a tone or to decide whether it takes place in Britain, America or some mythical amalgam of the two. The tone certainly could have been darker, even if the film is (probably) primarily aimed at teens considering its story (basically an update of Beauty and the Beast with gender roles reversed).

Ricci does a good job of holding everything together. She looks too cute to send men flying through windows in terror, and seems too well-adjusted for a 25-year-old who has never stepped outside the confines of her palatial home, but I suppose these are minor quibbles. After all, how could we root for a truly hideous princess with social interaction issues? Catherine O'Hara also scores as Penelope's overbearing mother who can't see that she is the barrier preventing her daughter from lifting the curse that has left her with a pig's snout for a nose. Other familiar names are more of a distraction than anything else: hedge-haired Russell Brand appears for one scene, an increasingly chubby Lenny Henry in another few. Producer Reese Witherspoon even makes an appearance late on.

One character I liked a lot was that of Lemon, played by Peter Dinklage. Not only does Dinklage provide probably the strongest performance in the film, thanks to a well-written role, the script wisely refrains from spelling out the similarities between his character and Penelope that lead to his pulling back from the pursuit of her. Anyone with a little insight can understand the reason for the casting; it doesn't need to be spelled out, but how many other films would keep hammering home the point until even the thickest viewer caught on?

"Penelope" opens with Christina Ricci narrating the story to us of how she, Penelope, was born with a curse - a pig nose. The film may seem childish and too fairy tale-like but Ricci speaks with such a soft pleasing manner that she reminds us of the best kindergarten teachers reading to us so we relax and settle in and comfortably enjoy the film.

Then we meet Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) she is everything that Penelope is not: high-strung, over-bearing, intolerant. Of course she's just being a protective mother but she's painted in such a light so the audience can relate more and laugh with Penelope. Most of the supporting characters are cliché but they are done over the top so they are actually funny. At this point I should make a caveat, I am a James McAvoy votary. Such that I would be glowing about his role and performance no matter what, so I will be conspicuously quiet on McAvoy to not over-colour this review.

Listed as a modern-day fairy tale for the entire family, I actually found the movie much more slanted towards young adults (a few jokes would go over kids' heads). This would probably explain the casting of twenty-something and 30-year-old popular actors. I, for one, am glad that they made a film for me with no violence, vulgarity, action or effects and instead filled it with light-hearted, romantic, feel-good messages about loving yourself. And they somehow did that with out being saccharine or sappy.