“Penelope” (Summit Entertainment)
A Fairy Tale
“Penelope” is a modern day fairy tale that teaches lessons about loving yourself and finding happiness in even the worst of situations. Christian Ricci and James McAvoy co-star in this sweet and entertaining film that is suitable for the entire family.
The crux of the plot is a curse that was placed on the Wilhern family many years ago. It was said that the first female born in the family would have the snout of a pig. For many generations the children were all male but in modern times a daughter was born to Franklin and Jessica Wilhern (Richard E Grant and Catherine O’Hara). This child indeed did have the nose of a pig.
The curse would supposedly be lifted when the girl Penelope (Ricci) found someone of her station in life who would love her for herself and not her looks. To this end a host of rich young bluebloods were brought in to meet her and possibly marry her. To the man they ran screaming from the house/mansion.
A reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinklage) wants to get a picture of Penelope for his paper so he hires a young man named Max (McAvoy) to see Penelope and sneak a picture. Max is the one person who seems to be drawn to Penelope but he has a secret as to why he can not be the one to break the cruse.
The film is produced by Reese Witherspoon who also has a small role as a woman who befriends Penelope. It is strange to see Witherspoon in such a small part especially since it was only a year or so ago that she won the Oscar for best actress of the year.
Ricci is very good in the title role and McAvoy has become one of Hollywood’s most appealing leading men. The two stars have a lot of charisma together and make the love story totally believable. Dinklage adds to the enjoyment of the film as a newspaper reporter with a soft spot for the young girl.
The standout in the movie is O’Hara. She can take any role and make it better and she does this with her part as Penelope’s mother. She honestly wants her daughter to be happy but she goes about it in all the wrong ways. O’Hara’s comic timing is perfect and the writer of the script gave some depth to this role. O’Hara reaches every nook and cranny of the character.
The film is rated PG for mild profanity.
To enjoy “Penelope” you have to lose yourself to the magic of a fairy tale full of witches’ curses and hopefully happily ever after endings. Ricci and McAvoy as well as O’Hara do everything they can to set the right tone. And if you can’t cheer for the “pig” girl to find happiness well your heart just isn’t in the right place.
I scored “Penelope” a once upon a time 6 out of 10.
