Penelope
Tags: romantic, fantasy, magical realism

Plot synopsis:
Many generations ago, the Wilherns were a prestigious, wealthy, and respected family. However, things went downhill after young Ralph Wilhern had a romance with (and impregnated) a servant girl named Clara. Though he wished to marry Clara, Ralph was talked out of the idea by his family and married a young woman of his own social class. A devestated Clara commits suicide.Unfortunately for the Wilherns, Clara's mother happens to be a witch. To avenge her daughter, the old woman curses the wealthy Wilherns, promising that the next girl born into the family will have the face of a pig, until she is accepted and loved by "one of her own kind." For generations, only sons were born to Wilherns, and the curse was nearly forgotten. But finally, Jessica and Franklin Wilhern produced a baby girl, Penelope, born with the nose and ears of a pig.Penelope's parents attempt to have the nose surgically removed, but the placement of a certain artery makes it impossible. They resort to hiding ther daughter in their lavish mansion, with Jessica banning anything pig-related (such as bacon) from the household. Due to the media circus revolving about the rumors of the "pig-faced girl," Franklin and Jessica fake Penelope's death and dedicate their time to finding her a welathy husband, which they believe will break the curse.Though Penelope is isolated, she is well-educated and develops a love for horticulture. When she is 18, Jessica hires a matchmaker, Wanda, to assist with the husband-hunt. A room is set up with a one-way mirror, allowing Penelope to talk with potential matches while hidden in her room. When she reveals her face to them, however, they run from the house screaming. They are caught (by the Wilhern's butler, Jake), and legally forced to keep Penelope's condition secret. Seven years later, after one such meeting, the young man in question (the snobbish Edward Vanderman III) outruns Jake and attempts to report "monsterous" Penelope to the police. Edward is laughed at and imprisoned for the night. The next morning, his story is printed in the newspaper, citing his outburst as a "mental breakdown."Desperate to clear his name, Edward complains to the author of the article. About to be dismissed a second time, Edward has a chance meeting with Mr. Lemon, a reporter determined to get a photograph of Penelope. Lemon had nearly gotten the picture in Penelope's infancy, but was attacked by Jessica, resulting in the loss of his eye. He and Edward team up to reveal her existance to the community.Lemon decides to find a "down-and-out blueblood" who would be willing to meet with Penelope while rigged with a hidden camera. He finds a name of a nearly broke man from a wealthy family: Max Campion. Lemon visits a gambling hall that Campion frequents, and is directed to his poker table. Lemon bribes the young man he believes to be Campion with $5,000 to participate in the scheme. The following day, "Max" meets up with Edward and Lemon and is affixed with a jacket containing a camera. Max enters the Wilhern house and files into the observation room with other young, wealthy candidates. As Max's camera malfunctions, he drops behind a sofa to fix it. At that moment, Penelope enters the room and the other young men flee. A disheartened Penelope retreats to the kitchen, where she argues with her controlling mother about the futility of finding a husband. Jessica and Wanda spy Max through the security camera, sitting alone in the observation room (having been the only one to not see Penelope). They quickly send Penelope to speak with him through the one-way mirror.Max and Penelope bond in their conversation, despite Max's obvious crooked ways. Max promises to return the next day. He assures Lemon he will be back to secure the photograph, which he had failed to obtain. The following day, Penelope suspects that Max plays a musical intstrument, and he playfully asks her to guess which one while he demonstrates his (lacking) skills at guitar, drums, bass, and saxaphone. Penelope concludes that Max pays piano, and finally reveals her face to him while helping him play a chord. Max is taken aback, but does not run. He snaps a picture, and is immediately ashamed as Penelope runs from the room. Max returns to Edward and Lemon, destorying the camera and photograph, as Jessica spys them and recognizes Lemon from years before. After an altercation back in the house, a tearful Penelope begs Max to marry her and break the curse. Max sadly refuses, and is banished from the house.That night, Penelope steals her mother's credit card, covers her pig snout with a scarf, and escapes into the city for the first time. She calls her parents from a payphone, assuring them that she is safe, and books a room at a hotel. Franklin and Jessica face dilemmas about finding their daughter; they cannot describe her to authorities without mentioning the pig features, which will expose her.After having a beer at a bar, Penelope befriends a delivery girl named Annie who helps her explore the city. After nearly being discovered by her parents, Penelope decides to sell her own photograph to Lemon to avoid using Jessica's credit card. Though Penelope still hides her identity, her picture starts a media frenzy. Her parents spot her once again, and after a chase through the city, an exhausted Penelope faints. Annie removes the scarf to reveal the famous pig snout.To Penelope's surprise, she is welcomed and treated kindly by the community, and has no further need to conceal her face. Edward, however, still sees Penelope as a hideous monster, and angers his prestigious father by expressing his disgust to the press. To redeem his image, Edward proposes to Penelope, who is hesitant because of lingering feelings for Max. At a theater one night, a still smitten Max confronts Edward about hurting Penelope, but remains hindered by his own guilt for leaving her.At the newspaper office, Lemon overhears that Max Campion was recently arrested for robbery. Shocked, Lemon visits the police station where he discovers the real Max: a middle-aged, portly man who also played poker at the gambling hall. Lemon asks about the young man who claimed to be Max, and Campion identifies him as Johnny Martin. Lemon realizes his mistake: he had approached the wrong man at the poker table, but the phony Max had played along for the money.After visiting Johnny at his blue-coller job, he discovers why Johnny could not break Penelope's curse: he is merlely a plumber's son, not a blue-blooded aristocrat. Penelope must marry "one of her own kind."The day of Penelope and Edward's wedding arrives. Edward is still disgusted by his fiancee, but is assured by his mother that the curse will be broken once the wedding is over. Penelope does not love Edward, and stoically allows herself to be preened for the ceremony. At the alter, Penelope backs out of the marriage and retreats to her room, with Jessica in hot pursuit. Jessica pleads with Penelope to reconsider and rid herself of the curse, but Penelope replies "I like myself the way I am." At that moment, a flash of light and a swirl of memories occurs, and a stunned Penelope finds her pig nose has been replaced by a human one. By being accepted by one of her own kind (herself), she had broken the curse.Without the iconic snout, Penelope falls out of the media circle and is free to live a low-profile life. She leaves home and becomes an elementary school horticulture teacher. Jake, the Wilhern butler, also leaves the household, revealing himself to be the witch who had cursed the family generations ago (he also "mutes" Jessica, sparing the family from her constant demands). On Halloween, Penelope is surprised to find that she, in her pig-faced form, is the most popular costume among her students. Remembering who had accepted her from the beginning, she decides to reconcile with Johnny. Dressed as herself (by wearing a fake pig snout), Penelope goes with Annie to a Halloween party at the theater where Johnny works and rents an apartment. Penelope nervously knocks on his door, under the guise of "having to pee." She notices he is packing a suitcase, and he tells her he is leaving town. Still not recognizing her, he sadly tells her that her mask reminds him of someone he used to know. Penelope sees a piano in the corner and reveals her indentity, remembering that she had guessed his instrument correctly before. Johnny kisses her and apologizes for being unable to break the curse. With a smile, Penelope removes her mask, showing that she had the power all along.Penelope tells her story to her horticulture class (accompanied by Johnny, now in a relationship with her), and asks their opinion of the curse. One young student replies insightfully "It's not the power of the curse, it's the power you give the curse." After sending the class off to collect plant samples in the park, Johnny pushes Penelope on a nearby swing. Lemon sits in a rowboat in the nearby lake, ready to sneak a picture of the new Penelope. Seeing her happiness, he thinks better of it and rows away.

Review: The cast was perfect and all did a great job, the looked like they had such a good time bringing this story to life.Penelope seems like the girl that should be living the high life, a wealthy family, part of royalty, but her life isn't perfect.
Penelope runs away though to find her freedom and instead finds herself and how wonderful she truly is.Penelope is a very cute film, I was very impressed with the story, there were some things I was a little disappointed in, like how they just abandoned some characters for no reason.
Catherine O'Hara played an excellent zany Mom which was more believable and real, in a weird way, then her role in Beetle Juice, (a film I adore.) Reese Witherspoon, was strong as usual, even in this odd, small supporting role (given her filmography).
Reese Witherspoon as a leather wearing, gum chewing, scooter riding messenger girl seemed a bit miscast, but she was actually good and had one of the funnier lines of the film.While there's nothing laugh out loud funny, this sweet story makes you smile again and again.
Oh and Reese Witherspoon is wasted, she's in the film I think for a grand total of ten minutes.Penelope also has problems with the middle section, the opening is absolutely brilliant and the ending works in some odd way, but the middle, and second third, is just bland and feels like it is treading water.
Nevertheless this is a good film for kids and in a time when kids will watch rubbish like Underdog, it would be a lot better for the kids to be taken to see a well made if slightly underachieving film that has a great moral.Penelope is hardly the disaster I assumed it would be due to its release being pushed back, but neither it a masterpiece.
The film may seem childish and too fairy tale-like but Ricci speaks with such a soft pleasing manner that she reminds us of the best kindergarten teachers reading to us so we relax and settle in and comfortably enjoy the film.Then we meet Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) she is everything that Penelope is not: high-strung, over-bearing, intolerant.
Such that I would be glowing about his role and performance no matter what, so I will be conspicuously quiet on McAvoy to not over-colour this review.Listed as a modern-day fairy tale for the entire family, I actually found the movie much more slanted towards young adults (a few jokes would go over kids' heads).
Now all grown up she is playing the titular role of her 2006 movie Penelope.Filmed in London, and with a high level of English actors too, and cast as an American fairy tale, this is the unlucky story of a witches curse on the first-born daughter of the Blue Blood (aristocrat) family, the Wilhern's.
Simple I know, but in this case, it works, with all the surrounding American accents sometimes rubbing the wrong way, we can easily dismiss the poor adaptations.This ugly duckling fable will warm to your hearts and tingle you with delight, with a charming narrative and distinctive feel good factor, and if Disney had gotten their hands on the project, it just might have come across as over sappy, over benevolent and over too soon.
Meanwhile the tabloid reporter Lemon (Peter Dinklage) and the aristocrat Edward Humphrey Vanderman III (Simon Woods) that have issues against the Wilhern family hire the gambler Max (James McAvoy) to meet Penelope and take a picture of her.
And yet I love "Penelope"  for its fine performances, deep truths, and genuine fairy tale quality."Penelope," through a curse placed on her snobbish, upper class ancestors by a spurned housemaid, is born with the nose and ears of a pig.
For a movie billing itself as a modern day fairy tale and romantic comedy, there is a surprising lack of magic in the story, and even less romance thanks to two leads that never generate any sparks together.
Penelope is a case of a cute idea that should work, but it's brought down by its underdeveloped screenplay.The title character (Christina Ricci) is a young woman who was born to wealthy parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E.
(A visual gag that is cute the first time the movie uses it, but tiresome the 30th.) Penelope eventually decides to run away from home and experience the outside world, wrapping a scarf around the bottom part of her face to hide her abnormality.
There might be someone out there who can break the curse, and that someone just might be Max (James McAvoy), a penniless piano player and gambler who initially is working for a sleazy tabloid photographer (Peter Dinklage) to snap a picture of the fabled and often rumored "pig girl", but starts to fall for her the more time he spends around her.Despite the support of Hollywood star, Reese Witherspoon (who not only produced the film, but also has a small role as a woman who befriends Penelope after she heads out on her own), Penelope has been sitting on the studio shelf for a little over two years.
It takes almost an hour for the story to finally reach the outside world, which means we have to sit through a good 50 minutes or so (and this is a 90 minute movie) of Penelope isolated in her own home, and the gag of people throwing themselves out the window or running away over and over for far longer than necessary.
Here is a movie that could have been spirited and uplifting, but its so concerned with the mundane aspects, it never takes advantage of its own potential.The love story that is supposed to be at the center of Penelope is also curiously lacking, due to the fact that the romantic leads spend so little time together, and the few scenes they do spend together are completely dull and lifeless.
This is a charming family movie with many strengths: good pacing, well- timed humour, strong acting performances, lovely whimsical sets.
at the mere sight of Penelope's face - scenes that, quite frankly, feel as if they were lifted straight out of an episode of "The Munsters." Still, an appealing cast, made up of the likes of Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E.
This weekend we chose Penelope, a romantic fairy tale starring Christina Ricci.Ms. Ricci plays the titular character, a rich young woman with the nose and ears of a pigthe unfortunate result of an ancient family curse that can only be broken if the poor girl is loved by one of her own kind: a blue-blood.
However, finding a suitor of the right pedigree proves to be rather difficult, since no man can even bear to be in the same room as the porcine Penelope.Despite the film's rather clichéd moralitythat it is important to love yourself, no matter how strange you lookPenelope is a rather enjoyable tale: well written, well directed and quite charming.
It's actually a good film.Christina Ricci comes back to leading roles with flair, playing titular character Penelope with both sweetness and spunk.
Then there's Reese Witherspoon, fabulous as always...The entire family will delight in Penelope (the girl and the film), with it's inviting visual style and witty script full of great characters.
Penelope was charming, at times touching, at times funny, and an easy recommendation to anyone with 89 minutes and nothing to watch.The premise is, of course, absurd, but so is that of The Princess and the Pea. An absurd premise is not and never has been a problem for fairy tales, and it isn't for this movie.A lot of the dialogue made me cringe, but each character was well-acted and had great chemistry with those they interacted with.
There was a great chemistry between Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, which was crucial for the movie to work out.Definitely worth a watch if you like romantic comedies.
The good points that I saw: great camera work - the picture is a delight to watch; excellent timing - trust me, you won't be bored even for a second, the plot is unfolding exactly as it should, no long scenes, no jumping over important moments, the movie feels like 15 minutes; surprisingly good cast and acting - if you don't like the story, you're bound to melt at the sight of James' blue eyes and Reese's face act.
Overall, the movie lets you enjoy the story and think about it in the end.There is much food for thought about the danger of gambling one's life away, the hope of turning around and choosing a better path, about faith in true love and damage an unloving parent could cause, about the power of having control over who you are and the will to become a better person (or a better journalist in particular).
A modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress (Christina Ricci) born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will love her faithfully."My first thought was that the pig nose does not even look that bad, so I like the explanation of why surgery is impossible...
I am sure everyone's first thought was that this could be a simple fix.Peter Dinklage is great here as a one-eyed reporter, and even Reese Witherspoon is at her least annoying (not to mention she is the one who allegedly got Ricci on board, making the whole film worthwhile).Rotten Tomatoes says, "though Penelope has a charming cast and an appealing message, it ultimately suffers from faulty narrative and sloppy direction." I guess I thought nothing one way or the other on the direction, but the narrative was fine.
It's light entertainment for young couples, and maybe couples that have been around for a while and want to remember their warmer moments.We have the mercenaries out for a story, the dashing rogue they employ to subvert security measures, we have the protective parents, and, of course, Penelope, who's been stricken with a family curse.Do I have any real critiques of this film?
Meanwhile, Penelope yearns to catch a glimpse of the world outside.The story sounds pretty much like a standard fairy-tale but Caveny does a good job of combining modern elements and adding plenty of humour.
Penelope is an interesting story about a girl who is born with an abnormal nose due to a curse which can be broken by someone of her own kind.To be honest i expected it to be a bit boring and some dull fantasy but surprisingly it turned out to be much better than that.Its a romantic movie with a different approach.The film is all about believing and building up strength and patience to get out of bad situations even if they form a part of your daily life.Its a story depicting the fact that everyone is special and born with an unique capability residing within.Not a bad film to give your 90minutes to,in fact one might find it refreshing in a way.Definitely a good fantasy with a romantic side!!!.
The film Penelope has good intentions at offering us a picturesque fable which is full of colorful characters who learn valuable life lessons.But the main problem from this film is that the "Burton-esque" aesthetic from this film and its screenplay cannot capture all the magic the story requires,so the final experience is sympathetic and entertaining,but not completely satisfactory.The best element from Penelope is definitely the cast.Christina Ricci shows a lot of professionalism with her role,so she results credible.James McAvoy brings an expressive and detailed performance which makes us to get interested in his character.The great Peter Dinklage is perfect as the villain.And,finally,we also have solid performances from Reese Witherspoon and Russell Brand.Director Mark Palansky made a solid work on all the technical aspects from this movie.But,this film has various fails.The screenplay feels a little bit artificial and it has some moments which do not add anything relevant to the story.Besides,I think this film is a bit longer than what it needs to be,so near the ending,it feels a little bit tiring.In spite of those fails,I liked Penélope.It is not too memorable,but it is a good option for spending time..
The story (written by Leslie Caveny) is narrated by Penelope (Christina Ricci) who takes us back to the days of a curse placed on the wealthy Wilhern family who refused to allow a son to marry the impregnated common girl he loves and opts instead for a fellow blueblood.
So much on screen talent wasted..very talented actresses like Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon are given nothing but clichés to work with, and one of the great comediennes of our time, Catharine O'Hara is reduced to making funny faces.Not sure who this is supposed to be for..not witty enough to be for adults, nor visually engaging enough to be of interest to kids.Shame.
I read good reviews on IMDb and got interested to see this movie.The story is about a rich family who is cursed  that whenever a girl will be born in their family she will look like a pig until she finds a suitable man in her life.
But the first time director Mark Palansky is not able to rise to cater to every movie goers needs and movie remains much to be enjoyed by children below 12-13 years of age.Mark tries to make the point through the movie that looks or being ugly does not matter and it is the person inside that counts, then why take a good looking girl Christina Ricci and do a ghastly make-up job of pig's nose?
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.
This film is about a cursed young woman, who needs to marry a man who loves her in order to break the curse.Penelope, despite her (rather unconvincing) bad looks, is actually lovable and charming.
Penelope is a modern fairy tale co-produced by Reese Witherspoon who also has a small role in the movie.Once upon a time, a doomed love affair with a wealthy heir and a servant girl leads to a curse where the next born daughter would have the nose of a pig.
However she is now at an age to get married but all suitable suitors run away once they see her nose.James McAvoy is Max who has been put up by a journalist to unveil Penelope and her pig nose to the world.The film is brisk, quirky and charming enough.
Poor Penelope (Ricci) was born with a pig-like nose and the problem is greatly exacerbated by a mother (Catherine O'Hara) who seems more concerned about herself and her image than her daughter.
It is THAT GOOD.This movie reminded me why I love Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon.
Christina Ricci was very endearing, James McAvoy is a pleasure to watch as always, Reese Witherspoon's role was small yet enjoyable and Catherine O'Hara is often times hilarious.
The role is incredibly relateable, and delivers a great message- to always love yourself; no matter what.Christina Ricci did an amazing job with this character, along with James McAvoy.
And to think that it's a simple story is missing the point, as it comes filled with enough carefully plotted twists and turns of a Brit comedy, complete with dry wit, that makes Penelope irresistibly charming.I've grown up watching Christina Ricci on the big screen since her Wednesday days with the Addams Family movies, and from then on, her roles have been nothing but eclectic, from duds like The Gathering, to the more recent temptress type roles like her stint in Black Snake Moan.
When she finally appears to him, however, he reacts just like everyone else.Penelope then takes off (much to the consternation of mom), meets the gum-smacking motorcycle-riding pseudo lesbian, Anne (the film's producer Reese Witherspoon) and is finally outed by the media.Most of those who ridiculed her are remorseful by the movie's conclusion and the message is a "Shrek"-like, "Accept yourself for what you are." The problem is, after she accepts herself for what she is, the curse is (*SPOILER ALERT*) modified.Therefore, the message should be, "Accept yourself for what you are and you can then change to be like everyone else."Or, "Forget about individuality and conform, CONFORM!"I'm sorry, but sticking a small pig's nose on Christina Ricci does not make her any less beautiful.
The result is a decent little film, engaging enough to be worthy of a look despite its unambitious and fairly predictable narrative.An ancient family curse results in Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) being born with the face of a pig.
The other memorable performance in the film comes from O'Hara as Penelope's insensitive mother, so obsessed with ending the curse that she never gives a moment's thought to her daughter's actual feelings.
Amazing to me that former Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon would appear in this stinker in a supporting role.Christina Ricci is born with the face of a pig as a result of a curse put on the family from generations back.The one bright shiny part in the film is Catherine O'Hara as the intolerable mother who tries to shield her daughter from the outside world.James McAvoy from the recent Ann Hathaway film on "Becoming Jane" co-stars in this wretched production.How many times must we hear that by being yourself and accepting your lot in life, you can rid yourself of the miserable curse?
The really sweet thing about the movie is the twist to it...it's not quite as cut and dry as you might think and one of my favorite lines in the film is Ricci's character Penelope falling back exclaiming "I like the way I am!" Also they made sure that the romance that blossoms doesn't develop because of Ricci's change from her original appearance but that he loves her for who she was and will be.