PENELOPE is a romantic fairy tale with the moral that beauty is only skin deep.  It tells the story of Penelope’s (Christina Ricci) journey into discovering a past hideous secret and the power to overcome it.  With it comes the age-old message of the need to be oneself.  Corny?  By director Mark Palansky is able to work his charm and make the movie believable.

PENELOPE has an odd feel with inserted slapstick primarily at the beginning of the movie.  Penelope’s initial suitors are shown running away from her, jumping through glass or pursued by the butler wearing colored sneakers.  Whether this idea works depends on the personality of the audience but the tactic livens the proceedings, no doubt.

One can hardly dislike such a well-intentioned film.  To be fair, PENELOPE cruises along well with few flaws.  For one, the film never establishes where it is set and the actors all speak with various accents, from Canadian (Catherine O’Hara) to Brit (Richard E. Grant) to American (Ricci).  The story is flimsy and the removal of the curse is explained too quickly – probably because it makes little sense.  I must admit that I hated the film (thought it to be over pretentious and ridiculous the first time I viewed it at TIFF) but its simple charm, on second viewing, got to me.  Even Ricci, known for her wicked roles, succeeds as a pitiful, kind soul.