penelope

when kel and i saw 'paris, je'taime' at ackerman a few weeks ago, we also saw the preview for 'penelope' and thought it was way too cute to miss!

now, i'm neither a fan of christina ricci (who has WAY too big of a forehead -- kinda like giada, i suppose, but less pretty) or james mcavoy (who's simply way too short and scruffy, even at his clean-shaven best -- and while i generally love blue eyes, his seem way too glassy).

but i do love reese witherspoon (even though her part is pretty tiny). (btw, is 'type a films' her production company? i swear i read that in some magazine article, but i'm too lazy to google it at this hour.) and the story line is pretty damn adorable. and i knew i'd cry (of course) at some point. so this movie pretty much had to be seen.

PLUS, kara is the CEC director this year and was lovely enough to put myself and a friend on the guestlist! considering that i don't have the biggest (ok, or smallest) ego around, it's always really special to be on a guestlist!! i know, i'm ridiculous. so sue me for being cheesy....

sadly, kel had to miss 'penelope' for a dorm event. but knowing that lucy's a big fan of free movies, i thought she'd get a kick out of this one. plus, considering that she had to deal w/me sobbing at 'the holiday' i thought she'd enjoy a possible repeat performance. i mean, who wouldn't?

in addition to getting let in through a special door and being seated in a special section, we ended up in a pretty prime location with a great view. and other than being surrounded by WAY too much estrogen and progesterone (which caused some serious squealing nearby and therefore a bit of a headache), the turnout was actually really good. i suppose i haven't been to a crowded screening in a while, but having lots of people around you really does seem to make movie-watching just a touch more fun. (well, at least when there aren't any kids around!)

unfortunately, when push comes to shove, this movie was fairly bland. as it was a fairy tale, the plot was overly simplistic. (thereby making the movie appropriate for the little ones, i suppose. that and very little on-screen smooching.) the characters were decently interesting, but pretty typical and one-sided. the neurotic mom. the oppressed daughter. the brooding love interest w/a deep, dark past. the obsessed midget pining for his lost eye. the bald-headed butler in funky red sneakers. (ok, maybe the last two weren't so typical.)

there were definitely some memorable moments and unpredictable twists. at two specific points, i remember my heart dropping out from under me. (yes, i'm a sap. shut up.) the first time when penelope begs max to marry her, his glassy eyes look into her pained ones, and he says "i can't." the second time when everyone realizes exactly why he said what he said. (OMG. i almost died.) this comes after the midget realizes who max really is. a totally unexpected twist that simply never crossed my mind.

at any rate, all of the advertising makes it clear that penelope comes to love herself for who she is. and anyone who knows what a fairy tale is knows that the girl ends up w/the boy. the question is how good is all of the stuff preceding these resolution points. and ultimately, there just wasn't very much worth watching. penelope escapes her prison of a house, wanders through the streets of some unnamed city, makes friends w/some oddball characters, almost ties the knot w/some freak, and ends up where she needs to be. and that's it. the rest of the side plots just seemed fluffy.

visually, i must admit that the colors were quite beautiful and vibrant. despite the fact that i thought most of the actors/characters in this movie were fairly unattractive (i mean, who really wants to see ugly people on the big screen? yes, i know, i'm superficial. so sue me.) the backgrounds and settings were absolutely captivating. and the costumes were just incredible. i wish i had that much color in my wardrobe! plus, i love the fact that the movie was set in some unnamed time, with the costumes blending old-school and contemporary fashion concepts. very cool.

at the end of the day, though, what's going to draw crowds to this movie is the current obsession with james mcavoy c/o his 'atonement' fame. (i'm not quite sure how i held myself back from slapping every single girl who went on and on and on about how hot he was. i mean, SERIOUSLY. what?! he's almost a midget and seriously SUPER scrawny. ick.) it's like you have one super hot sex scene and you're forever plastered in the minds of young girls as some sort of GOD. if folks wanted to appreciate him for his TALENT, they'd go see 'the last king of scotland' -- in which he was quite incredible. wow.

all in all, this movie certainly wasn't horrible, but ultimately, i'm glad it was free. i thought what penelope ended up doing at the end was kind of cute -- very *not* princess-ey. but it involved kids, so really, how great could it possibly be?

http://www.penelopethemovie.com/