Penelope - B

[Guest Review - Appraiser]
In theaters tomorrow. Rated PG, 101 minutes. Trailer.

The Wilhern family curse comes to fruition with the birth of the first daughter in generations. Penelope (Christina Ricci), born with the snout and floppy ears of a pig, is kept out the public eye by her overly protective and critical aristocratic mother Jessica Wilhern (Catherine O’Hara). Once Penelope reaches the age of courtship, she must marry a true blue-blood to end the curse and transform into a “normal” looking girl, but she obviously has problems keeping well-to-do suitors interested when her porcine snout is revealed. Enter Max (James McAvoy), a suitor with a secret of his own. The two form an unlikely bond and Penelope is inspired to leave the home that once imprisoned her. Click below for more pig snout.

Penelope is a modern day fairytale that’s a bit broad stylistically. Mark Palansky’s directorial debut lacks a cohesive view at times. It starts as a quirky comedy, has a stereotypical slow motion “cool-guy” moment at the card table, and then a syrupy sweet montage that features McAvoy at a piano. It was filmed in London, although the location is not mentioned in the film, and has a half American half British cast. Clearly, the most glaring fault of the movie is the casting of Reese Witherspoon as Annie, the ultra feisty cosmopolitan motorcycle riding risk-taker. She doesn’t pull it off. Coincidentally, Reese happens to be a producer of the film, and apparently played an important role in getting the project off the ground. In the end, Penelope outshines its shortcomings with some good laughs, a great cast (sans Reese), and a few twists and turns along the way. It’s the quintessential romantic comedy with a message, the absolutely perfect date movie.