DVD Review: Penelope

I have loved Christina Ricci ever since Addams Family, it's hard not to, she's pretty, she can act, she can do goth, she's off centered, there's plenty to love. I loved Addams Family and she's one of the shining brilliance in that film and its sequel. She also played a very sassy Dede in the Opposite of Sex. But I still love her the best when she's doing fantasies or horrors. (Probably why I haven't gone to see Black Snake Moan)

Well, Penelope is a modern day fairy tale about a curse being placed in a blue-blooded family where the first girl born will be cursed with the face of a pig, and the curse will only lifted when she get excepted by one of her own kind. Her mother being an overbearing one, wanted to protect her from the outside world so Penelope grew up without leaving her house. While suitors were brought in and introduced to the pig-faced girl for marriage in order to break the curse and one by one they ran away or jumped out the window, where then a butler would chase them down and force them to sign a gag so they wouldn't go out and tell the world. The story took a turn when one of them ran free...

I throughoutly enjoyed this movie, it's very sweet. The production of it is wonderful, love the lighting, the sets and the costumes. Fantasies/Fairy Tales/Superheroes are just the types of movies I enjoy. The story is simple and it's even suitable for kids. And can I say now that I've seen this movie, I actually find James McAvoy hot, I used to just think of him as a scruffier looking Shia LaBeouf. Simon Woods of Rome's fame and Reese Witherspoon are also in it and Catherine O'Hara plays the messed up mom who doesn't know when to shut up.

I can only nitpick on how the baby was supposed to have crooked pig ears and they didn't go with that on the adult version and the previous shot and the ending shot of the boyfriend's apartment didn't look quite the same, but they did manage to create a complete fantasy environment. It's a good film if you like fairy tales, I liked it. (The shredded chiffon wedding dress is so beautiful.) B+