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Penelope (2006)

Director: Mark Palansky

Time Out rating

Average user rating

8 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

A prosthetically-altered Christina Ricci stars in this wilfully quirky fairytale set in a present-day city resembling both New York and London. If you thought Cyrano de Bergerac had it bad, meet Ricci’s Penelope: she’s got a veritable pig’s snout for a nose.

Said snout is the result of a family curse that can only be broken when Penelope is accepted by ‘one of her own’. Fearing ridicule, Penelope’s rich parents hide her away and audition aristocratic suitors, all of whom do a runner when they see the prize. Desperate for a picture of the famed beast, reporter Lemon (Peter Dinklage) sends in gambler Max (James McAvoy), who’s armed with a secret camera. Max falls for Penelope at the sound of her voice (she’s hidden behind a two-way mirror), but his deception drives Penelope to run away from home.

Ricci and McAvoy work well together, his worldly charm nicely offsetting her cutesy naïveté. There’s solid comedy casting with Catherine O’Hara as Penelope’s paranoid mother, and a likeable turn from producer Reese Witherspoon as biker chick Annie.

A few novelty cameos feel cheap – most notably Russell Brand and Lenny Henry – although Nick Frost and Ronni Ancona are decent enough support. Too many characters compete for attention, however, and the plot is as cluttered as the casting, cramming in messages about celebrity culture, image obsession, self-worth, family ride and racism. The story’s too busy, and the tone too light for many of these ideas to resonate, making ‘Penelope’ an often enjoyable but largely forgettable watch.

Author: Anna Smith 2008-01-29 18:05:57

Time Out London Issue 1954: Jan 30 to Feb 5

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User reviews of this film

olivia said...

Posted on Aug 27 2008 13:13 such a boring kiddie film!

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Bes T. Ality said...

Posted on May 25 2008 23:47 An uncomfortable and difficult watch if viewed by a child/person with a facial disfigurement. Oh sure the message that learning to love yourself is there eventually, but the "prize" for this is losing the disfigurement. Additionally having a full pigs head would have made for a more interesting kssing scene with the roguish but soulful Max at the end.

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B.B. said...

Posted on May 23 2008 21:10 I realy enjoyed this film. I went to watch it with one of my best friends and her mum. Me and gissel even her mum liked it ,it is a great family movie we had a great time together!!!!!!!

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Rochelle athleton said...

Posted on Mar 15 2008 11:35 Its soooooooooooooooooo boring

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PEN said...

Posted on Mar 09 2008 11:23 we went to see this with two 5 year olds as it was rated a U. A couple of swear words and not particularly suitable content for 5 year olds i would definately not reccommend it. bad choice and not sure what audience this was trying to appeal to.

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josh trevett said...

Posted on Mar 02 2008 21:57 This Film Is Realy Super...Me And My Boyfriend Shared Our First Kiss Watching This Film...I Loved It.....

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Kate said...

Posted on Feb 17 2008 17:50 This film was 'mazin!! I Wuld reccomend it too everyone. i saw it wiv my best mates and den we had a sleepover and it makes yu have something to talk about! Brilliant. film.

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Lucy said...

Posted on Feb 09 2008 12:40 What?! I can't believe the time out review! What a load of rubbish. Next time, why don't Time Out employ people to review fims that actually know what they're talking about. Obviously these people don't - I don't agree with the last paragraph at all. I went to see this film and I really enjoyed it, SO POO YOU Time out!

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