2008-08-06

Penelope


Release Year: 2008
Starring: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O’Hara, Richard E. Grant, Reese Witherspoon, Simon Woods, Peter Dinklage
Directed by: Mark Palansky
Written by: Leslie Caveny
IMDB: 7.3 (7,348 votes)
RT: 52% (115 reviews)
Metacritic: 48 (29 reviews)

As a fairy tale movie, Penelope entertained me not in terms of the acting prowess of the cast, but its colorful presentation. The story? Well, what would you expect from a fairy tale flick? Yeah, the story was average, not significantly special in any way.

Unlike Amy Adams in Enchanted, Christina Ricci seemed to have failed to deliver the necessary charm to her character. Just compare Giselle and Penelope (without the nose), who’s more adorable? This charm factor is a crucial factor for any fairy tale, because it would make the audience to sympathize on the lead roles. Unfortunately, both Christina and James failed to do so. Okay, maybe Johnny Martin was not supposed to be likable, but Penelope should be made likable. Another weakness was obvious in Catherine O’Hara who was being too comical. Perhaps the movie was intended to be comedic first, dramatic second, but I definitely prefer it to be dramatic first, while comedic second. Funny thing is that Peter Dinklage was the one that I would give credit to. He definitely managed to play well, way superior than the rest of the cast.

Aside from average story and weak acting (except that of Peter Dinklage), the design of the movie was very good. There was some richness in color, but it definitely needed more to balance the other weaknesses. To summarize the movie, it probably only serve as a one-time entertainment, unable to leave a lasting impression on the audience (at least not in me).

Final score: 5.0. Sorry, Enchanted was way better (and I actually didn’t even like the fairy tale genre).

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