Is this meant to be dark comedy? It's hard to tell.
Comment
06/25/08
Penelope (2008)
52 %
Reviews Counted: 115 Fresh: 60 Rotten:55 Average Rating: 5.6/10
Consensus:
Though Penelope has a charming cast and an appealing message, it ultimately suffers from faulty narrative and sloppy direction.
Rated: U
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Theatrical Release: 01-02-2008
Synopsis: Like Tim Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and the TV show PUSHING DAISIES, PENELOPE is a modern fairy tale, complete with candy colors and whimsical cinematography. PENELOPE begins with a generations-old curse by a jilted lover: the next girl in the aristocratic Wilhern family will be born... [More]
Genre: Comedies
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage
Director: Mark Palansky
Screenwriter: Leslie Caveny
Producer: Reese Witherspoon, Scott Steindorff, Jennifer Simpson
Composer: Joby Talbot
Screenwriter: Leslie Caveny
Producer: Reese Witherspoon, Scott Steindorff, Jennifer Simpson
Composer: Joby Talbot
Reviews
Top Critic
The convictions of the cast and an extremely snappy script fill in most of the gaps caused by the wobbly plotlines.
03/07/08
Top Critic
Despite an extremely uneven style, this modern-day fairy tale has plenty of charm.
02/11/08
It's too bad that the second half turned out to be a drag, because I very much enjoyed the first half.
07/22/08
A diligent ensemble can't lift the film to anything higher than a shallow fairy tale with only worthy intentions.
07/19/08
With only a DNA witch's curse pig's snout compromising Ricci's otherwise exceedingly alluring physical assets, it doesn't make a lick of sense that prospective suitors are jumping out of windows after catching a glimpse of her disfigured beak.
07/12/08
Penelope is adorable and easy to watch thanks to the charms of its leads Ricci and McAvoy. But it's too much a mainstream Hollywood product and not enough of a spunky indie spirit to really win audiences over.
07/09/08
Penelope is a sweet trifle, a great kid's movie, and not surprising, given its subject matter a film gay audiences will find familiar and comforting. That's because, more than anything, this is a story of acceptance of one's true self.
05/22/08
It's not eccentric enough to be as otherworldly as it wants to be, but it's too self-consciously quirky to perform on its own merits.
05/01/08
Maybe I've got some subconscious porcine fetish thing going (or something) but I think Christina Ricci looks kind of cute with a pig's snout where her nose should be...
04/02/08
A sweet but clumsy fable that's pleasing without being particularly distinguished.
03/16/08
After I saw the intriguing trailers that trailed off a couple years back, I wondered why this movie was wallowing somewhere on a shelf.I'm still not sure. Although I do know one thing: Had this been a Christmas-time release, it would have been seen by lot
03/09/08
Produced according to a formula for squeezing the maximum amount of cloying charm out of the minimum investment.
03/07/08
It's Ricci, with her princesslike innocence and Keane-painting eyes, who provides the movie's abundant charm.
03/07/08
Despite Christina Ricci's charming performance, Penelope is trapped in a twilight zone between fairy tales and play-it-safe romantic comedies.
03/07/08
The success of Juno has re-set the bar for whimsical tales of headstrong, intelligent young women grappling with life difficulties.
03/06/08
An adult fairy tale that is badly hobbled by its uncreative handling of its theme of finding one's true self.
03/05/08
A film of some ragged charm -- and one in which there's always something cool to look at in design and filmmaking style. And that's more than a lot of movies can claim.
03/05/08
Related Forums
(2008 release)-Pig-nosed PENELOPE cracks the top 10 ... something to oink about???
by: THE spammer - NO mercy! 3/26
by: THE spammer - NO mercy! 3/26
(2008 release)-Pig-nosed PENELOPE cracks the top 10 ... something to oink about???
by: THE spammer - NO mercy! 3/26
by: THE spammer - NO mercy! 3/26
FREE 'Penelope' advance-screening passes! Feb. 6!
by: filmforlife 2/12
by: filmforlife 2/12
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