PENELOPE REVIEW

In a pleasantly surprising film, Christina Ricci plays Penelope, the unfortunate victim of a generations old family curse, born with a porcine visage that makes her more Babe than babe.  This causes multiple suitors, all ironically quite boarish, to flee the family sty as soon as her snout is outed. 

Peter Dinklage plays a swine of a reporter who recruits habitually incompetent gambler James McAvoy as a potential husband, a strange choice given his inability to bring home the bacon, and Catherine O’Hara hams it up as Penelope’s long suffering mother.

With recurring themes of accepting oneself rather than rooting out acceptance in others, Penelope prompted modest cheers and applause from a preview audience.  Given generally obvious plot developments, the film is cured by several endearing performances rather than by storytelling chops.  Overall, Penelope is unlikely to hog many awards, but it does manage to make a cute little silk purse out of a sow’s ear … err, nose.

-Anthony Sheppard
tony@retrocrush.com