Penelope's a punk
An offbeat fairy tale about an ugly duckling, Penelope's tale of a pig-nosed heiress may charm younger audiences but fails to satiate
By Alexa Weibel
Published: March 26th, 2008 | 2:55pm
Christina Ricci's roles run the gamut, to varying degrees of success—an indie darling stemming from her iconic debut as Wednesday Addams, she embraces unconventional, underdog roles. That of Penelope is no disappointment, but the able cast can shine only so much in the roles of exaggerated buffoons.
Cursed by the indiscretions of an ancestor with the daughter of a witch, sweet Penelope is blighted with a pig's snout, destined to lift the spell and shed the schnoz only by upon the acceptance of one of her kind. Rather than withstand the tabloids and humiliation, her hysterics-prone, overbearing mother (appropriately, Home Alone's Catherine O'Hara) decides to fake her misfit daughter's death. Penelope is reared in secrecy, shielded from humiliation to varying degrees, depraved of everything from childhood "this little piggy" tales to, ironically, bacon at breakfast.
Upon Penelope's 18th birthday, her blue-blooded, snobby parents decide to focus on breaking the spell, and enlist the aide of a dogged matchmaker. Mortified suitors come and go in droves: To the thrills of younger audiences, they chuck themselves out of windows to escape Penelope's mug, attracted by a generous dowry but repelled by her appearance. But one reckless suitor remains: Max (James McAvoy), a gambling addict down on luck, sticks around and courts Penelope in vitro, as she hides behind the safety of a one-way mirror. A charming montage of their flirtations prompts Penelope to reveal herself — for once, the suitor jumps but doesn't run. But Max doesn't commit, either.
"For seven years I've been watching them run," laments Penelope. Wounded by the rejection of her last hope, she leaves home and braves the city under the cover of a strategically placed scarf. Tailed by the one-eyed midget paparazzo (Peter Dinklage) and his upper-crust, sycophant accomplice (Simon Woods), Penelope does surprisingly well for herself in the Big City — but lets face it, armed with a stolen credit card from loaded parents, who wouldn't?
As she's discovered by the media, Penelope marvels, "They're not running!" The anything-is-possible aspect of fairy tales comes into play, and the public becomes enthralled with her, elevating her to pop-icon status while regarding her as a cuter circus freak — Halloween finds her face everywhere, replicated in mask form. Following traditional fairy-tale custom, Penelope must differentiate between the frogs and the princes as she makes her way in the world.
Penelope adapts a decent take on the age-old Beauty and the Beast tale, but something to satisfy adult audiences is missing — a little more heart, a dose of reality, or even a little more edge: The simple concept of an ugly protagonist is just banal. The dated-yet-timeless gothic decor was good, but the visuals could have been fantastic if executed by Tim Burton. Perhaps darker undertones and a snarling Penelope with a hairier snout would have made the film a little more interesting, but in its current, bland state, Penelope appeals to younger girls who have only recently exited their princess phase and have yet to discover Beetlejuice.
Issue #35
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