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Penelope
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MPAA RATING: PG for thematic elements, some innuendo and language
Starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant, Simon Woods, and Ronni Ancona
Penelope is a magical modern-day fairytale about love and self-acceptance. Penelope Wilhern, born to wealthy socialites, is afflicted by a secret family curse that can only be broken when she is "loved by one of her own kind." Hidden away in her family's estate, the lonely girl is subjected to meeting a string of blue bloods through her parent's futile attempts to break the curse. Each suitor is enamored with Penelope (and her sizable dowry)...until the curse is revealed. Lemon, a mischievous tabloid reporter, wants a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and hires Max to pose as a prospective suitor to get the shot. The handsome down-on-his-luck gambler finds himself falling for Penelope, but not wanting to disappoint her, he disappears. Fed up with this latest betrayal and determined to live life on her own terms, Penelope breaks free from her family, venturing into the world alone. She finds friendship, adventure, and becomes the person she was meant to be out on her own. And, as in all good fairytales, she manages to find her Prince Charming to live happily ever after. (Summit Entertainment)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy |
| WRITTEN BY: | Leslie Caveny |
| DIRECTED BY: | Mark Palansky |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: July 15, 2008 Theatrical: February 29, 2008 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 102 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | UK / USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
liz v gave it a9:
I think this was an amazing movie. I like the way everything was, and how everything turned out. It was a great "fairy tale" movie and I would recommend it to anyone.
p ray gave it a6:
This could have been very special. the last few scenes and the first half are great but then the pacing slips, the third quarter seems to much in a hurry to get to the end, bits of the story are linked together forcefully. when drama is needed we are just rushed through to the next necessary bit of the story. i hope that makes sense. what a waste...as it was in parts and in spirit mostly potentially wonderful.
Paul F. gave it an8:
[***SPOILERS***] In short Penelope was a good movie through and through, however not destined for greatness, and that's OK. Not every movie needs to be great. Penelope had a wholesome entertaining story that kept your attention through out the movie. This movie did what it was suppose to do mostly keeping you company while reminding you of the finer things in life, in this case being happy with who you are as well as being kind to others by leaving all preconceived judgments behind. If Penelope had a fault was that some of the humor was unrealistic as well as a few hokey magic scenes. But this I could overlook because these were the scenes that got the most laughs. It was suppose to be over the top. I felt the movie could have gone in the direction of greater depth but instead chose a safer on the surface feel. It certainly achieved success in what it was shooting for and as I mentioned before not every film needs to be fantastic. One of the great things about this movie is that it could really appeal to broad audience. Really this is an adult film but I would not bat an eyelash twice and the thought of taking the kiddies to see it. [***Warning Spoiler*** ]if you have not seen this film read no further. One small things I was disappointed at is when Penelope does break the curse she gains a stereotypically beautiful nose. I did however like how Penelope was portrayed as missing it and how her controlling mother wanted to via plastic surgery make her nose curl upwards, and how her love was almost as shocked to see it changed as when he first saw her. I felt however these points could have been made more pronounced. Yet again for safety's sake the film took the easy route. Overall it is a good film that I would be quick to recommend almost anyone to go and see.
Christian P. gave it a5:
An okay movie I guess I was forced to see the movie with my girlfriend. It's not a bad idea to make a fairytale to take place in modren day but I wish the story could be more decent. I don't mind if they make a sequel which they won't but I rather stick to this medicore movie usually romance is not my thing it's the funnies but I was forced to see this movie.
Johnathan F. gave it a7:
I expected this movie to be terrible and it just wasn't.
Chad S. gave it a2:
This is the film your plastic surgeon wants young, impressionable girls to see. Your daughter won't shudder at the sight of Penelope(Christina Ricci), who's one nose job away from being pretty; they will shudder, however, at Penelope's suitors exiting her room like amateur stuntmen. Rhinoplasty is deemed to be a surgical impossibility in "Penelope", but the lifting of the curse functions as rhinoplasty's metaphor. Penelope accepts herself but the film doesn't allow her to savor the moment. The curse is lifted. Talk about mixed-messages. There's a disconnect between the character and the narrative. Penelope likes her snout; she likes who she is, but "Penelope" doesn't. The screenplay turns into a scapel. "Penelope" only pretends to be a film about beauty being skin deep. Max(James McAvoy) fell in love with Babe, not a babe. He was going to marry Penelope in spite of her deformity. The new nose isn't really for Penelope, or Max, or anybody within the diegesis. It's for you.
Luis G. gave it a7:
for once i will disagree and defend a small film like penelope yes it was a little cynical but it was a grown up fairy tale the one u wish you could get away with and ricci and mcavoy shine ... i loved it .. a small simple and sincere picure..

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