Penelope (2006)

A modern romantic tale about a young aristocratic heiress born under a curse that can only be broken when she finds true love with "one who will love her faithfully."

Director:

Mark Palansky

Writer:

Leslie Caveny

Stars:

Richard E. Grant, Christina Ricci, James McAvoy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard E. Grant	...	Franklin Wilhern
Catherine O'Hara	...	Jessica Wilhern
Nick Prideaux	...	Penelope's Great-Grandfather (as Nicholas Prideaux)
Michael Feast	...	Jake / Witch
Christina Ricci	...	Penelope Wilhern
Ronni Ancona	...	Wanda
Simon Woods	...	Edward Vanderman
Paul Herbert	...	Leonard Wilhern
Simon Chandler	...	Doctor
Peter Dinklage	...	Lemon
Andi-Marie Townsend	...	Young Penelope
John Voce	...	Station Cop
Burn Gorman	...	Larry
Andrew Bailey	...	Floorman in Card Club
James McAvoy	...	Johnny / Max

Storyline

In this modern-day romantic tale, Penelope is about a young girl's inspiring journey, a mysterious family secret, and the power of love. With all odds against her, in order for Penelope to break the family curse, she must find true love with "one of her own kind" and realize the most important life lesson, "I like myself the way I am." Penelope Wilhern, born to wealthy socialites, is afflicted by the Wilhern spell that can only be broken when she finds love. Hidden away in her family's estate, the lonely girl meets a string of suitors in her parents' futile attempt to break the curse. Each eligible bachelor is enamored with Penelope and her sizable dowry; until her curse is revealed. Lemon, a mischievous and eager tabloid reporter, wants a photograph of the mysterious Penelope and hires Max to pose as a prospective suitor to get the shot. The handsome down-on-his luck gambler finds himself falling for Penelope, but, not wanting to disappoint her or to expose his surreptitious ways, he...

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Plot Keywords:

curse | parents | pig | friend | witch | 

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Taglines:

She's been hiding all her life. Now she'll show the world just who she really is.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some innuendo and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [de] Official site [us]

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Penelopa

Filming Locations:

56 Holland Park, Holland Park, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,802,144 (USA) (29 February 2008)

Gross:

$10,011,274 (USA) (30 May 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Summit Entertainment, Stone Village Pictures, Type A Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 86 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Reese Witherspoon's first project as the leading producer as well as an actress, and also Mark Palansky's feature film directorial debut.

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Goofs

When Penelope comes out of the bathroom in Johnny's apartment, the handle on the outside of the bathroom door does not move, which it should when she turns the handle on the other side of the door.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Penelope: My parents were born into the good life. Old money, blue blooded, society sweethearts.

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Connections

References Beauty and the Beast (1976)

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Soundtracks

"When you rise"
Written by Will Daily
Performed by Mappari
License from Laughing Nude Music and Fundamental Shoes Publishing

User Reviews

Charming

I didn't know what the heck Penelope was, I only saw the trailer once and it looked very strange, I only saw the poster more than a few times and it again, didn't really catch my interest. But my friends and I decided to check it out and I'm actually glad that I saw it. As silly story that it is and a bit predictable, it's a good movie. Most romantic comedies tick me off because they are so predictable and the it's the same formula each time, Penelope is close to the same formula, but instead adds a fairy tale twist. It has the same moral of the story as most films of having to accept yourself, but Christina Ricci made it more charming and lovable. The cast was perfect and all did a great job, the looked like they had such a good time bringing this story to life.

Penelope seems like the girl that should be living the high life, a wealthy family, part of royalty, but her life isn't perfect. Due to a shallow mistake her ancestor made, a witch cursed a face of a pig onto the next born daughter, that happens to be Penelope who apparently has to marry a man of royal blood to break the curse. But since she's not the prettiest face on the planet, every man runs from her, but Max, a spy sent by a photographer, Max learns that Penelope is a beautiful soul. Penelope runs away though to find her freedom and instead finds herself and how wonderful she truly is.

Penelope is a very cute film, I was very impressed with the story, there were some things I was a little disappointed in, like how they just abandoned some characters for no reason. But I think it's hard to fit it in a short film, still I think it could have been edited better. But Christina Ricci was a great choice for Penelope, even though she's still oddly enough not the ugliest woman I've ever seen with the nose, she did a good job and held her own well. Reese Witherspoon, small role, but she was so charming. I would recommend Penelope, it's a cute film and was a lot of fun to watch.

7/10