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Penelope
Summit Entertainment


7.2

based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 18 votes
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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...

Film Threat Jamie Tipps

An extraordinarily charming movie.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

There are some flat moments, to be sure, and Palansky's direction can be a bit unsteady and awkward, but he doesn't wallow in the eccentricities or the modestly self-empowering moral. This fairy tale feels pleasantly down-to-earth.

TV Guide Ken Fox

A sweet, unassuming surprise.

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

This half-baked fairy tale always seems to be on the verge of becoming charming but despite a good cast it never quite succeeds.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Aimed at tweenage girls and mushy romantics of all age and stripe, Penelope has a quick gait and a nice comic tone.

Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall

More tart than sweet, this contemporary fairy tale provides a worthy vehicle for the fearless Christina Ricci.

Washington Post John Anderson

Anyone willing to tolerate the tortured premise of the story will be paid off handsomely by several winning performances and a moral that makes most of the absurdity worthwhile.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

The result is an entertaining comedy for young girls and older girls who still like a good romantic fable.

Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan

Reese Witherspoon, whose production company made Penelope, contributes an inflated cameo that feels forced.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

An endearing premise and fanciful spirit aren't quite enough to rescue a film that has more heart than smarts.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

It's not the best of modern fairy tales but it's sincere and Christina Ricci's earnest and vulnerable performance touches the heart. Penelope is flawed but not irredeemably so.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

I wish it were truly special instead of an interesting near-miss.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Though the film has a strong cast, humor and a satirical take on celebrity culture, the story is spotty.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

A first film from director Mark Palansky, written by sitcom veteran Leslie Caveny (Everybody Loves Raymond, Mad About You), and the two are obviously indebted to the fanciful imagination of Tim Burton.

Village Voice Nick Pinkerton

Ricci is appealingly human, and some acknowledgement of the importance of female friendship, in addition to romance, is faintly touching.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson

First-time director Mark Palansky is trying for a deft, hip, modern fairy-tale feel, but the odd material, sprawling story, and complicated tonal balancing act get away from him, and the film winds up as a poorly paced tug-of-war between sweet quirk and sloppy camp.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

There are usually good reasons why a movie gets shelved for more than a year, however well-acted it may be and however well-meaning its message. Many are on view in Penelope.

Variety David Rooney

The whimsical ugly-duckling fable becomes more uneven as it proceeds, straining too hard to manufacture its quirky charms.

Baltimore Sun Michael Sragow

I found the sight of McAvoy as a piano player in jazzy-seedy duds a lot more disconcerting than Ricci's porcine prosthesis.

Los Angeles Times Gene Seymour

There's no real rigor or craft applied to this story -- just mood, tone, neo-gothic imagery and frantic attitude. If only Penelope knew what it truly wished to be and how to go about it. Which is probably what this overly coy fantasy's modestly appealing title character wishes as well.

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

Surprisingly pedestrian.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

Too heavy on applied charm and too flimsy when it comes to plot. The picture has a hapless, meandering quality that's tolerable at first but ultimately becomes maddening, as if it were a cartoon narrative recounted by a distracted 4-year-old.

Austin Chronicle Josh Rosenblatt

It’s as if Caveny had so many ideas that she simply couldn’t bear to leave any of them crumpled up on her office floor.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Penelope is dead on arrival.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

This story could have gone in a number of more inspiring allegorical directions but winds up your average bedtime story instead.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Under Mark Palansky's uninspired direction, magic eludes Penelope in scene after scene.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A hopeless jumble of visual and linguistic styles.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Penelope was in a trough of trouble before the oink on the script was dry.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Is there anything more dull than an ineptly cynical fairy tale?

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..

Penelope Summit Entertainment

Penelope
Summit Entertainment