Took the kids to see the movie Penelope this weekend. Unusual choice for kids, I guess, but they watched the trailers for that one and for College Road Trip, and they chose Penelope, a movie about a princess named Penelope (played by Christina Ricci) who is born with a pig nose because of a generations-old curse that is put upon her family. I wasn’t expecting much from the movie, mainly because I hadn’t heard much about it, but also because let’s face it, the premise isn’t exactly one based in reality. I had read one little article about Christina Ricci, and how this is her first movie in awhile, yada, yada, but I didn’t think much of a movie about a girl with a pig’s nose – until it was in our local theater and it was only rated PG. I did not doze off during this one, and it did not bore the kids like I was expecting. Our 8-year-old liked it, our 3-year-old fell asleep; not from boredom, she just does that a lot in the movie theater, takes after Mom, I guess 😉 and our 17-month-old was rambunctious as can be. I think she is getting too old for movies. You know what I mean – there is a window where kids should not be taken to movies, I guess, say between walking age and an age they can sit still and actually enjoy the movie. Our youngest-for-now is reaching that age quickly!
So anyway, Penelope is actually quite entertaining, and it wasn’t entirely predictable like I thought. Overall, a cute movie that kinda throws a lesson in for the kids – don’t judge a person on looks alone. Christina Ricci is pretty good, barely recognizable, and I had trouble figuring out if it was because of her acting or her pig nose. Catherine O’Hara was wonderful and fun to watch as always, and Reese Witherspoon was also fun to watch (surprisingly so for me, because I’m not a big fan of hers) in her equally surprisingly small role as Penelope’s newfound biker-chick friend. Fun to watch, ok for kids… I’d see it again.
