Penelope (2008)

O Masterpiece
X Excellent
O Rental
O OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / March 1, 2008

When I was little, I had a Miss Piggy puppet. One night I awoke with an achy arm. The first thing I beheld was that fierce-eyed Miss Piggy doll, and my little-kid brain decided she must have bitten me. (The truth is, Kermit the Frog probably saw us sleeping together.) Regardless of the reason behind my arm pain, I’ve had a Miss Piggy phobia ever since. Had I seen “Penelope” when I was that age, I would have dropped over dead. But even at 31 years old, the premise still made me nervous.

“Penelope” is a delightful fairy tale about a girl who is born with a pig’s nose. Actually, it’s her nose, but it resembles a pig’s nose. As an infant, she also has pig’s ears, but we don’t see those when she’s older. Penelope (Christina Ricci, “Black Snake Moan”) had a rich great, great, great grandpa on her father’s side who fell in love with a young lady from the wrong side of the tracks. Because of peer pressure, he opted to break the impoverished gal’s heart. She committed suicide.

The dead girl’s mother was a witch (yes, a real witch) and she placed a curse on the grandpa’s posterity so that the first-born daughter would have a pig’s nose. Lo and behold, the forthcoming generations of children were all boys until Penelope was born.

Penelope’s parents are elite socialites with highly publicized lives. But when they have Penelope, her mother panics and keeps the baby in hiding. When Penelope is dating age, her mother tirelessly tries to marry her off to another “old-money, blue-blooded” young man; because, as legend has it, that is the only way to break the pig-nose curse. The only trouble is, when the dashing suitors see Penelope’s face, they literally become dashing suitors: rich kids running like they’re headed for the bank in October 1929.

“Penelope” isn’t your typical Cinderella story. It’s weird and whimsical like a Roald Dahl tale. It is well made, well cast and well worth seeing. Yet, it is one of those hypocritical comedies like “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” (2007); except, instead of telling us not to ridicule gays (while ridiculing gays), “Penelope” suggests that we shouldn’t make fun of unusual-looking people while making fun of unusual-looking people.

Catherine O’Hara plays Penelope’s mother, entertaining us with an amusing blend of her Kate McCallister from “Home Alone” (1990) and Delia from “Beetle Juice” (1988). She’s perfect for the role. And we get to see a street-smart side of Reese Witherspoon, who is also one of the film’s producers. James McAvoy plays Max, Penelope’s potential love interest.

Again, “Penelope” seems to want to be a message movie. It is aimed squarely at the fragile self-esteems of young girls, ages nine to 17. It is a tale of self-acceptance that oddly reneges on its preparatory good works, pulling the moral out from under us (and its lead character).

But no matter, it seems it was all for naught, anyway: Near the end of the movie, we’re given a sight gag where a dwarf actor, Peter Dinklage, is rowing a miniature boat. And the audience laughs. Ha ha. Ho ho. Indeed, the very same audience who was just moments before appalled by the other characters’ thoughtless laughter at Penelope’s birth defect. … We’re fast learners.

Directed by Mark Palansky
Christina Ricci / James McAvoy / Reese Witherspoon
Comedy / Romance 102 min.
MPAA: PG (for thematic elements, some innuendo and language)

U.S. Release Date: February 29, 2008
Copyright 2008: 250