"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
"It isn't how you get there, it's what you do along the way that counts."
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Director: Mark Palansky Writer: Leslie Caveny Genre: Comedy - Fantasy - Romance Country: US/USA Certification: U Language: English Released: 26th May, 2008 (DVD)
MAIN CAST:
Christina Ricci (Penelope) Richard E. Grant (Franklin Wilhern) Catherine O'Hara (Jessica Wilhern) James McAvoy (Johnny / Max) Reese Witherspoon (Annie) Peter Dinklage (Lemon) Simon Woods (Edward Humphrey Vanderman III)
Following the despicable actions of a Wilhern who professed to love a family servant and went on to impregnate her and then toss her aside, the Wilhern family is cursed by the servant's mother after she commits suicide. The mother is, in actual fact, a witch, and puts a curse on the family - the first female child of a Wilhern will be born with the face of a pig, and the curse cannot be broken unless she is accepted by one of her own kind.
Unfortunately for Penelope, her ancestors never had daughters… she's the first female born to a Wilhern.
Therefore, having been born with a pig snout, Penelope's parents, thoroughly devastated, promptly removed her from society after her birth, and in an effort to get rid of all the reporters hounding them,
they faked Penelope's death - thus forcing their only child to live as a recluse within the family home.
When Penelope reaches a marriageable age, her parents set about finding a husband for her amidst their own kind, but the eligible bachelors are repulsed at the sight of her and flee... until one day a wily reporter, who never believed that the Wilhern's daughter had died, manages to find a 'down-on-his-luck' blue blood, Max, and entices him into courting Penelope so he can take a picture of her. Unfortunately for the journalist, the 'blue blood' falls for Penelope and refuses to take the picture - and just as unfortunately for Penelope, the only suitor she's ever had who actually has feelings for her isn't really a 'blue blood'.
Realising that he isn't the 'blue blood' that Penelope needs in order to break the curse, and not wanting to make her life more difficult than it already is, Max decides to make himself scarce. Penelope, however, isn't aware of Max's true feelings for her, thinking that he was simply out to humiliate her by selling her picture to the journalist, and in a moment of rebellion, decides to run away and see for herself what the world has to offer.
'Penelope' had such potential... and it failed miserably.
This modern-day fairytale storyline held such promise, and was destined to be as good a movie as 'Enchanted', but it failed miserably on all scores.
The first strike against it is the makeup - although the movie is based on a character possessing a pig 'face' who is repulsing to look at, and every one of the characters in the movie are horrified by Penelope's looks - the director decided that it was perfectly okay to wing it and let the audiences imagination take over. Sorry, although I have a great imagination, Penelope, under no circumstances, is ever repulsive in appearance. She is simply a very sweet, naïve and delectably cute young woman who just happens to have a pig snout… and, if I may add, it suits her well! Therefore, when the suitors are jumping out windows or gagging at the sight of her, all the viewer sees is a very cute woman with a really cute little pig nose. Try as hard as I might, I just couldn't make any sense of the suitors' horror at seeing Penelope. I just didn't see what they saw, therefore the suitors' reactions to Penelope seemed farfetched and concocted.
The second strike against this movie is the script - it lacks humour, is shallow and empty, and fails to draw the viewer into the story.
The third strike against this movie is the acting - it is simply 'ordinary', and there is a noticeable lack of depth to the characters. None of the characters are likeable or dislikeable… they are simply underdeveloped fictional characters.
Finally, the greatest letdown of all is the setting and atmosphere of this movie. Although the intention was to make it look and feel like a fairytale story along the lines of 'Enchanted' or 'Pushing Daisies', that magical aura simply isn't there. The audience simply can't relate to any of the characters, or feel anything for any of them.
Christina Ricci just isn't a good actress - she is cute but shallow, and she is unable to give her character any real depth. Penelope was simply a reflection of who Christina already is, a misunderstood rich girl. The last thing I wanted to see was Christina Ricci in the role of Christina Ricci.
The writer failed to develop the characters in this movie, giving them substandard dialogues that lack wit, and very little room for expansion and growth. There is a blandness to this movie that is just so overwhelming that the viewer can't possibly 'feel' anything for any of the characters.
What 'Penelope' needed in order to become a good, perhaps even a great movie, was to make the main character look like Penelope, a hideous pig-faced woman who is truly repulsive to look at. This would have made the dialogue believable, and the audience would have felt something for the main character.
This movie is just so unbelievable, so disjointed with its bland dialogue and blown-out-of-proportion and unrealistic character interactions and reactions that its runtime of 104 minutes seems much longer at times.
'Penelope', with its U rating, will bore young children to distraction, make teens want to set fire to the lounge in order to liven things up, and cause adults to nod off after only 15 minutes. Yes, it is a light and fanciful movie that makes you feel somewhat good after watching the likes of 'Sweeney Todd', 'The Ferryman' and 'Disturbia', but that feel good sensation is short-lived.
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Production Year: 1993 - Family - Director: Tim Burton, Henry Selick - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Ken Page, Pee-Wee Herman, Glenn Shadix, William Hickey, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman
Advantages: Charming, funny, romantic, sad, compelling, good cast, great musical scor Disadvantages: None for me, as long as you accept it for what it is.
grafter123 13.06.2008 (29.06.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Penelope (DVD)
Jun 10th, 2008
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