The story goes a step too far after achieving the goal.
Comment
02/28/08
Penelope (2008)
50
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:121
Fresh:61
Rotten:60
Average Rating:5.5/10
Consensus: Though Penelope has a charming cast and an appealing message, it ultimately suffers from faulty narrative and sloppy direction.
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... [More]
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Reese Witherspoon
Director: Mark Palansky
Reviews for Penelope
Palansky takes a sweet short fable, makes 90 minutes seem like 900, and then gets the moral wrong.
02/28/08
It's only missing a scene where the heroine cries angry tears and demands to know if that's all she is to the hero, a stupid bet.
02/28/08
I suppose Penelope would be pleasurable if the title character looked more like a pig and less like a burn victim.
02/28/08
A rather delightful family-friendly fairy tale with a nice message and a fey, whimsical attitude.
02/28/08
Penelope is a fairy tale that will leave parents just as engrossed as their kiddies.
02/28/08
Director 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.
02/28/08
Penelope sat unreleased for two years, and no wonder. It's a shambles, so inexpertly timed and clumsily directed by newcomer Mark Palansky that it seems like a first-draft edit of some hopeless, abandoned project.
02/28/08
McAvoy is... unaffectedly charming... Ricci is her own kind of quirky-captivating... And the two of them even share a fair bit of romantic chemistry.
02/28/08
For all its good intentions and positive messages, this pig pic doesn't fly because, ironically, it never roots deeply enough.
02/28/08
More tart than sweet, this contemporary fairy tale provides a worthy vehicle for the fearless Christina Ricci.
02/28/08
Aimed at tweenage girls and mushy romantics of all age and stripe, Penelope has a quick gait and a nice comic tone.
02/28/08
If only Penelope knew what it truly wished to be and how to go about it.
02/28/08
Is there anything more dull than an ineptly cynical fairy tale?
02/28/08
Compared to Juno MacGuff, Penelope Wilhern is practically mute, but they're half-sisters under the skin.
02/28/08
A fairy tale that may make millions of girls re-think that nose job.
02/28/08
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.
02/28/08
Offbeat romantic comedy is sweet but lightweight.
02/28/08
Less-than-magical fairytale about girl who must find true love in order to break the family curse that left her with the nose of a pig.
02/28/08
Entire plot strands crop up from out of nowhere only to disappear without explanation, never to be heard from again. It’s as if [director] Caveny had so many ideas that she simply couldn’t bear to leave any of them crumpled up on her office floor.
02/28/08
Latest News for Penelope
July 12, 2008:
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. 
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February 28, 2008:
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February 28, 2008:
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This week at the movies, we've got hapless hoopsters, snouted socialites, and scandalous siblings. What do the critics have to say? More...
February 28, 2008:
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.
More...
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