Frank and Penelope

Ok, I'm going to start off the review by saying this, this is not a good film. It is crass, poorly written and overbaked. However, it was a very entertaining one thanks to the main actor and actress. Their story was energetic, fun and the chemistry between the duo grew on me throughout the film. On the other hand, the acting ranged from very over the top to just plain bad, especially from the people playing the villians and the vast majority of everyone who isn't Frank or Penelope. Also, some of the plot points felt hamfisted into the story, or mashed in from other, much better films. I feel if the director/writer didn't include so many random storylines to pad out the runtime, it would've made for a much better film. The genre bending should've been left out as well. Should've stuck with the erotic drama/thriller It would've shaved some time off that almost 2 hour runtime and it would've helped the pacing feel more vibrant, violent and fun. Sometimes, it's riviting and provocative. Other times, it is completely idiot and on the same level as a scifi channel original. I do admire the filmmakers for trying because it was oddly entertaining and it kept my interest throughout, in an unapologetic kind of a way. Overall, I'd say if you have nothing better to watch, it's not the worst thing out there to watch. You will laugh, you will roll your eyes, but you will probably make it to the end and not feel bad about watching it. 3 dynamic duos out of 5.

But this creative entertaining little gem gets 8/10 stars from me. I've been holding off watching this due to the harsh critics reviews, but decided to finally give it a chance. Heck, it's not even close to perfect, but for a B film, it's one of the better ones out there, and most importantly, it was a fun ride - albeit sometimes weird.

This is notable actor Sean Patrick Flanery's second dabble as writer and director, and rookie mistakes aside, I couldn't stop watching this little gem. It certainly had some plot and pacing issues, and I felt the 112 min runtime was stretched out too much. Some much needed edits and cuts to make this around a 90 min runtime could've gone a long way.

However his filmmaking tone and style did not disappoint. It did well in mixing various genres, and the cinematography, sets and landscaped were well utilized. The soundtrack and score were excellent, especially for a B film. I did feel his cast needed better direction, as some of the performances either lacked conviction, or were overdone every now and then. It also needed a little fine tuning in some of the dialogue - especially Caylee Cowan's Marilyn Monroe voice and demeanor, that became a little too annoying pretty fast.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it more than I had expected. I like that Flanery left the ending open to a sequel, I'll certainly be watching out for one.

I just saw the movie. There was not at all any part of the movie that was slow or boring. Caylee was looking beautiful as always and wonderful acting by Frank.

Wannabe Tarantino?

Poor acting?

No script? No story?

Slow? Boring?

Shove all those complaints away and just watch this movie, which for sure will put a smile on your face.

Frank and Penelope is what I call pain and simple entertainment. The movie does what many others have done, it's style, although unique, is not really unique, it's actors act too hard, it's story goes everywhere and has everything, and in the end what you get is a way better compilation that what Hollywood has been churning lately.

From a movie making standpoint, the direction, editing, cinematography, and even writing are pretty good. Everything does come together quite well. But what really keeps this movie on pace is the lead actors, who share great chemistry and show how overacting can be entertaining acting!!

Recommended!!

Straight up, this film is very low budget, the story is old, the script is lame and the acting is sub-par. All the characters are cookie cutter Hollywood stereotypes. There's nothing original here thanks to the dull redneck inspired dialogue and the story has been told much better in many other films. Skip this mess and watch Wild At Heart directed by David Lynch instead.