this little piggy

a james filled weekend! my favorite! penelope is a lot better when compared to other mindless romcoms. the concept here is similar and different at the same time. boy meets girl. one of them fucks up the relationship before it's even a relationship. they realize they love each other. past fuck-up by one of them rears its ugly head. they get over it. happily ever after.

in penelope, it looks like max (james) is going to screw up right off the bat. he kind of does, but this prompts penelope to go on a little soul searching field trip. she becomes a minor celebrity and is pressured into marrying a man she doesn't love. and i'll leave it at that.

christina ricci! going into the movie i thought she might be a little too old to play the part but she pulled it off nicely. there were a few time where i was thinking, "no 25 year old would say that. ever." but the movie was so charming that i'll over look it.

catherine o'hara was an excellent selfish, clueless, overbearing mother. she reminded me of those women who have kids only so they can dress them up like little dolls. it's obvious that she doesn't really love penelope because of her appearance and unfortunately treats her like a freak instead of letting her live her life.

reese witherspoon was cute. not wholly believable but still cute. her character didn't really have me convinced that she was really friends with penelope. she just seemed a little standoffish. i did like how reese didn't take the lead role in her own movie. i find that off putting in many cases. she's either being selfless and aware by letting another better suited actress play the lead or she's throwing a fellow actress under the bus, just in case the film bombs. i hope its the former, but you never know with these hollywood people.

james!!!!!!! oh how he plays a tortured soul. i just want to give him a big hug. and a kiss. and tell him to forget about his wife. ahem. movie review, right. i like how max didn't purposely fuck up the relationship by doing something stupid. he was really being a selfless man (is there such a thing!?!) and putting her happiness and future before his own, even though she was happiest when she was with him. awwwww. i could have done without the sketchy facial hair, but it was fitting for his character. i wish, as always with all good looking men, that he had more [shirtless] screen time, but i think he really owned it when he was the focus. oh and just a side note, foreign men doing american accents... quick! get the smelling salts!

i'm quoting m here when i say "you can tell reese made this for her kids." and i agree. it's an innocent romcom that reminds me of the simplicity of disney fairytales. ahh the good old days.

grade: b+