Tale as Old as Time

This past Friday, Netflix sent us the movie Penelope. In the mood for a movie night (particularly when my cold returned with a vengeance), my sister and I got comfortable, turned off the lights and popped it into our DVD player.

The movie tells the story of Penelope (Christina Ricci), a young woman born with the snout of a pig due to a family curse. It is believed that the curse will be broken when she marries one of her own--namely, someone also of a blue-blooded family. Her parents (Richard E. Grant and Catherine O'Hara) try to find a suitable suitor. However, many have a bad reaction when they see Penelope's face. One, Edward (Simon Woods), runs straight to the nearest newspaper. The editor (Burn Gorman) doesn't believe him but a reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinlage) does--he lost his eye trying to get a picture of baby Penelope.

The two team up and ask a down-and-out blue blood named Max Campion (James McAvoy) to court Penelope and get a picture. However, Max finds Penelope intriguing and the two form a relationship, though she remains behind a two-way mirror. They fall in love and Penelope reveals herself to him. She asks him to marry her because he didn't run, but he says he can't. Sick of rejection and being kept from the outside world, Penelope escapes her parents.

Out on her own, Penelope avoids her parents and meets Annie (Reese Witherspoon). Together, Penelope experiences things she had only heard about. After revealing herself to the world, she becomes famous. Due to this, Edward decides to marry her and her mother especially encourages her to accept. Penelope must decide if she wants to marry or if she really doesn't mind the way she looks now just as some new information about Max comes to light.

The story, a reverse beauty and the beast, was good and a bit more affirming than Tyra Banks trying to convince girls they are beautiful just the way they are when she changes all her models. However, as my sister kept pointing out, Ricci didn't look that bad. She's already has an unique beauty and it outshone the prosthetics. She plays the quirky roles well and Penelope was no different. McAvoy proves once again why he is in demand as a leading man, delivering a stirring performance instead of falling back on his good looks. O'Hara, as Penelope's overbearing mom, provided a good mixture of serious and comedic acting. It's just hard to see her as anything but Kevin's mom in the Home Alone movies. Witherspoon, who also produced the movie, brought her usual screen-lighting abilities to the story, but I wished both she and Grant had been given more to do.

The movie never really establishes a setting for the movie, occuring in this magic-filled alternate version of Europe. It has a mixture of British and American actors, though most of the main players all speak with an American accent (Gorman's accent particularly annoyed me and I wished they had let him use his normal accent, familiar to me from Torchwood). Though the fact an official setting is never given, it allows one to believe that this fantastical land the director has sculpted with beautiful lights, lush scenery and fireworks could exist. The script wasn't as predictable as it could've been, particularly in regards to Max, though one could easily predict the outcome of Penelope and Edward's wedding.

I recommend this for anyone who either likes Ricci or McAvoy, as well as lovers of romantic comedy. It's a great movie just to watch when you feel down or on a grey day with some friends.