Penelope 2006

David Germain, Associated Press: No offense intended, but a pig snout is very becoming on Christina Ricci. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Compared to Juno MacGuff, Penelope Wilhern is practically mute, but they're half-sisters under the skin. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: More tart than sweet, this contemporary fairy tale provides a worthy vehicle for the fearless Christina Ricci. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: Penelope was in a trough of trouble before the oink on the script was dry. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: 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. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: Director Palansky is trying for a deft, hip, modern fairy-tale feel, but the odd material, sprawling story, and complicated tonal balancing act get away from him, and the film winds up as a poorly paced tug-of-war between sweet quirk and sloppy camp. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: There is an underlying sweetness to Penelope, a root-for-her vibe that's only slightly diluted by the predictable story. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The message in Leslie Caveny's script is ultimately too dispiriting a cop-out. This story could have gone in a number of more inspiring allegorical directions but winds up your average bedtime story instead. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: This half-baked fairy tale always seems to be on the verge of becoming charming but despite a good cast it never quite succeeds. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It's broadly comic, sweetly sentimental and sharply satirical at times -- particularly when it takes on the concept of celebrity -- and both parents and kids should walk away satisfied if not quite elated. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Is there anything more dull than an ineptly cynical fairy tale? Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: A precocious fairy tale made for and starring people too old for whimsy Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: If only Penelope knew what it truly wished to be and how to go about it. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR.org: Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: This could have been a perfect choice for the Enchanted set, if only its charms were more than skin-deep. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Under Mark Palansky's uninspired direction, magic eludes Penelope in scene after scene. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: For a film that is basically about a hip, New Wave fairy princess, Penelope has both old-fashioned charm and a freshly modern approach to the subject of media manipulation and celebrity culture. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: What Penelope offers is a terrific cast willing to emphasize the charming, a decent fake nose and a message that any parent would love to pass on to a child -- love yourself and the world will love you back. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Aimed at tweenage girls and mushy romantics of all age and stripe, Penelope has a quick gait and a nice comic tone. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Much as I would like to give Penelope unreserved praise, I can't stretch my lukewarm approbation that far. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: The picture has a hapless, meandering quality that's tolerable at first but ultimately becomes maddening, as if it were a cartoon narrative recounted by a distracted 4-year-old. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: 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. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Penelope sat unreleased for two years, and no wonder. It's a shambles, so inexpertly timed and clumsily directed by newcomer Mark Palansky that it seems like a first-draft edit of some hopeless, abandoned project. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Perhaps the best reason to recommend Penelope is that it offers an opportunity to watch Catherine O'Hara in action as the alarming Mrs. Wilhern. Read more

Susan Walker, Toronto Star: The semi-satirical treatment of celebrity culture, as Penelope is treated first as a tabloid sensation then a media darling, is lame and dated. Read more

David Fear, Time Out: Neither a talented cast nor the film's Gaudi-like version of London's urban landscapes can make up for schizophrenic pacing and inexplicable phenomena. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: 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. Read more

David Rooney, Variety: The whimsical ugly-duckling fable becomes more uneven as it proceeds, straining too hard to manufacture its quirky charms. Read more

Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Ricci is appealingly human, and some acknowledgement of the importance of female friendship, in addition to romance, is faintly touching. Read more

John Anderson, Washington Post: Anyone willing to tolerate the tortured premise of the story will be paid off handsomely by several winning performances and a moral that makes most of the absurdity worthwhile. Read more