Fresh
I think it's a sweet film.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Penelope
A fairytale like no other.
2006 · 1h 44m · PG
Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Directed by
Mark Palansky
,
Sean Guest
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Penelope
Overview
Forlorn heiress Penelope Wilhern is cursed, and the only way out is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she find her soulmate when she's sequestered inside her family's estate with only her parents to keep her company? This untraditional fairy tale is about a girl who bucks convention to create her own happy ending.
Director and cast
- Mark Palansky Director
- Sean Guest Director
- Christina Ricci as Penelope Wilhern
- James McAvoy as Johnny/Max
- Catherine O'Hara as Jessica Wilhern
- Peter Dinklage as Lemon
- Richard E. Grant as Franklin Wilhern
- Reese Witherspoon as Annie
- Simon Woods as Edward Vanderman
- Ronni Ancona as Wanda
- Nigel Havers as Mr. Vanderman
- Lenny Henry as Krull
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
53%
Tomatometer
Fresh
While uneven, this Ugly Duckling redux is hipper and funnier than a Disney movie, and the positive message to young girls can't be discounted.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Rotten
The semi-satirical treatment of celebrity culture, as Penelope is treated first as a tabloid sensation then a media darling, is lame and dated.
Susan Walker, Toronto Star
Fresh
Sweet as gingerbread, Penelope deserves to find an audience; those with a taste for happily-ever-afters should look for it, before it too-quickly disappears.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Rotten
Director Palansky and screenwriter Leslie Caveny seem to have many of the right ingredients for creating something beguiling, but the film is, finally, surprisingly pedestrian. What a shame, with all these good performers.
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle
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