Penelope (2006)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Cute fairy tale has a young girl (Christina Ricci) born with the nose of a pig after a witch puts a curse on her family. The curse can only be lifted if someone can fall in love with her the way she looks but this is going to be hard to do since every guy who comes in contact with her runs off in fear. One man (James McAvoy) gets paid to pretend he likes her but will his feelings change once he gets to know her? I really wasn't sure what to expect from this film but it turned out to be a very funny and often times touching fairy tale that tries to tell a message about how people should be happy with the way they are. I think the ending, while touching, is a tad bit hypocritical but I won't ruin it for you. What works best are the wonderful performances with Ricci showing that she can do more than just play dark characters. This is a really light movie and Ricci's performance is perfect and really captures the fairy tale quality of her character. Catherine O'Hara turns in a good performance but I really had a problem with her character who I thought was simply too mean for the film. I know stories like Cinderella always have the bad person but I think O'Hara's character crossed the line too much in the film. Reese Witherspoon only appears in the film for twenty-minutes or so but she delivers another fine performance. The real standout here is McAvoy who was also in Atonement. I had never heard of this actor before seeing the previous film but after witnessing that and this film I must say that I can't wait to see what he does next. He gives another terrific performance here and he's certainly an actor I'll be keeping an eye on in the future. In the end, this is a very cute film that should appeal to kids and adults.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Cute fairy tale has a young girl (Christina Ricci) born with the nose of a pig after a witch puts a curse on her family. The curse can only be lifted if someone can fall in love with her the way she looks but this is going to be hard to do since every guy who comes in contact with her runs off in fear. One man (James McAvoy) gets paid to pretend he likes her but will his feelings change once he gets to know her? I really wasn't sure what to expect from this film but it turned out to be a very funny and often times touching fairy tale that tries to tell a message about how people should be happy with the way they are. I think the ending, while touching, is a tad bit hypocritical but I won't ruin it for you. What works best are the wonderful performances with Ricci showing that she can do more than just play dark characters. This is a really light movie and Ricci's performance is perfect and really captures the fairy tale quality of her character. Catherine O'Hara turns in a good performance but I really had a problem with her character who I thought was simply too mean for the film. I know stories like Cinderella always have the bad person but I think O'Hara's character crossed the line too much in the film. Reese Witherspoon only appears in the film for twenty-minutes or so but she delivers another fine performance. The real standout here is McAvoy who was also in Atonement. I had never heard of this actor before seeing the previous film but after witnessing that and this film I must say that I can't wait to see what he does next. He gives another terrific performance here and he's certainly an actor I'll be keeping an eye on in the future. In the end, this is a very cute film that should appeal to kids and adults.