History Film / Penelope

* ''Film/Penelope2006'', a 2006 film starring Creator/ChristinaRicci about a girl who was born with a pig nose.

* ''Film/Penelope1966'', a 1966 film starring Creator/NatalieWood about a TrophyWife who robs a bank to attract her husband's attention.

* ''Film/Penelope1966'', the 1966 film.
* ''Film/Penelope2006'', the 2006 film.

If an internal link led you here, please correct the link to point to the right page.

[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Penelope_Poster_2_2428.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:295:The movie was shipped to some theatres under the code-name ''Scarfy'']]

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, as well as Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Creator/CatherineOHara, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively small supporting role), and Creator/BurnGorman, Creator/NickFrost and Creator/RussellBrand in minor roles.

Loosely based off the legend of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig-faced_women Pig-Faced Woman]], the film is a {{reconstruction}} of the classic FairyTale. It follows the story a child of wealthy parents {{curse}}d with the face of a pig [[CurseEscapeClause until she is accepted by "one of her own"]], which both she and her parents interpret to mean a marriage to somebody of her own social class. She is kept in seclusion in her parent's house her entire life, her very existence a secret after her parents faked her death as an infant in order to avoid the paparazzi, and she is trained in the arts and sciences to make her the perfect prospective bride. After seven years of fruitless searching for a blue-blood suitor who will remain in the same room for even a moment after seeing her pig face, Penelope (Christina Ricci) has resigned herself to being in this state forever and she (and her father) believe that it is time to move on with her life and accept the fact that this curse might never be broken. When one final suitor (James [=McAvoy=]) seems to form a genuine emotional attachment to Penelope, only to also refuse to marry her after she reveals herself to him, Penelope flees her home and begins to live her life for the first time in the real world, making friends and enjoying the world which she had only ever seen through the windows of her room.

After being produced in 2006 the film was stuck in TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment, unable to find a distributor for several years after the movie had been completed. Eventually, Summit Entertainment purchased distribution rights in the United States for a 2008 release.
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!!''Penelope'' contains examples of:
* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Not only do cell/mobile phones and the internet apparently not exist, it's questionable whether ''answering machines'' even exist given the fact several characters are shown surrounded by tons of phones. Notably, said phones are all corded, and Penelope has no trouble finding payphones to use. Something of a plot point is made of Penelope's dowry, a practise no longer in play in modern day America (at least, officially, though, there might still be some cases of a form of NobilityMarriesMoney quietly happening). The clothing, however, is distinctively 1990s/2000s, credit card usage is apparently common, and things such as shatterproof glass exist.
* BarSlide: When discussing just what she is missing out of life by remaining sheltered, Max says that Penelope has never really had a beer until she has had one on tap. One of the first things she does out in the world is ask for a beer on tap, which the barman gladly slides down the bar for her.....and which she watches go right off the end and shatter on the floor. Thankfully the barkeep is a friendly sort, so he passes her another after explaining that she is supposed to catch it.
* BeastAndBeauty: Deconstructed. While Penelope is the one with the disfigurement, Lemon specifically refers to the picture of her and Edward as "Penelope and the Beast" because he is so reprehensible.
* BecomingTheMask: Max is hired to pose as a suitor in order to get a picture of Penelope for a tabloid, but gradually begins to fall for her.
* BetaCouple: Annie and Jack the Bartender engage in some light flirting and banter when they are together without Penelope.
%%* BigFancyHouse
%%* BrokenAesop: The film has essentially the same problem as ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast'' -- once she learns to accept her own appearance as an ugly person with a pig nose, she transforms into an attractive Christina Ricci.
* ButtMonkey: Edward brings a lot of it on himself given his vendetta against Penelope, but he is lambasted by the police and the press for having a nervous breakdown when he tries to tell people about Penelope. Everything he does afterwards, either to prove that she exists or talking about her, makes him look worse and worse to everybody around him.
%%* {{Curse}}: Breaking the HereditaryCurse is what all the action hinges on. [[spoiler:Penelope's mom gets one of her own after ''she still doesn't get the curse's moral despite some explaining''.]]
* CurseCutShort: Upon seeing Edward's sketch of Penelope in the newspaper, Jessica exclaims, "HOLY MOTHER-!" and censors herself with a scream before she faints.
* CurseEscapeClause: The curse will last until Penelope is accepted by "one of her own" until "death do they part". Since that specific phrase is part of a traditional wedding vow, and the situation all started because Ralph Wilhern refused to marry the witch's daughter, Penelope's parents believe that the curse will be broken the instant Penelope is married to a blue blood. [[spoiler:It is ultimately broken by Penelope herself when she accepts herself, since she is certainly part of her own class and will not be parted from herself until death.]]
* CuteMonsterGirl: Penelope is absolutely adorable, even with the pig nose and ears. This is acknowledged even within the movie, when Lemon cannot reconcile the adorable pictures of Penelope with the monstrous description Edward had given him.
* DesignStudentsOrgasm: Penelope's room looks like it came straight from an Anthropologie store, as do her [[UnlimitedWardrobe clothes]]. The film as a whole, really.
%%* DisturbedDoves: When Penelope runs away.
* DreadfulMusician: James [=McAvoy=]'s character awfully plays saxophone and piano, and sings awfully as well.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Jack, the bartender, is credited as Jack the Bartender.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Inverted. Everyone (minus Jessica) sees that neither Penelope nor Edward love each other when they are engaged. It's transparent that Edward doesn't want to marry a pig-faced girl, and Penelope is no more comfortable with his unpleasant personality. [[spoiler: It only takes Penelope saying "no" at her wedding that breaks the tension that's been building.]]
* EyepatchOfPower: Lemon wears an eyepatch over his right eye after [[EyeScream Penelope's mother knocked it out when he tried to get a picture of her as a baby]].
* EyeScream: Penelope's mother knocked out Lemon's right eye when he popped out of a cupboard to take a photo of the baby Penelope.
* FakingTheDead: When the paparazzi harassed the family after she was born, Penelope's mother, Jessica, faked her death (And had the 'remains' cremated) to keep her a secret.
* FictionalDocument: Penelope owns a first-edition copy of George Rockham's novel ''The Dreamer'', which is her favorite book and which she re-reads during the film. This is neither a real book nor a real author.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Lemon goes to recruit Max Campion into the scheme, the cashier points out the man at the poker table as Max walks towards them, while an unnamed character picks up his chips from the ground in the background. [[spoiler: The character picking up his chips is actually Max Campion, hinted at by the camera lingering on him for a few seconds as the other Max walks towards the camera.]]
* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: Penelope goes to visit "Max" on Halloween, wearing... a pig mask. While little girls go trick-or-treating in her old outfit no less.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar
--> '''Franklin Wilhern''': She's finding his instrument.
--> '''Jessica Wilhern''': Isn't that something a man should do for himself?
* HeelRealization: As the movie progresses, Lemon begins to question his pursuit of the pig girl and what he is trying to accomplish. After Penelope [[HiredToHuntYourself sells him her own pictures]] and he sees that she is just a vulnerable young woman he tries to talk Edward out of publicizing them and stops his own pursuit. [[spoiler:He ultimately reveals to the Wilhern family all the details of what he and Edward had done, and even attempts to apologize to Jessica about the way he had stalked them years before (Although Jessica's abrasiveness makes it hard for him to get the apology out). The final scene of the movie has him again following Penelope for one last picture, but he instead puts the camera away and floats away.]]
* HiredToHuntYourself: Penelope takes pictures of herself and sells them to the tabloid in order to finance living on her own. Lemon is understandably perplexed, and her willingness to do so (And the vulnerable young woman her pictures reveal) are where he begins to question his lifelong hunt for the 'monster'.
* ImpoverishedPatrician: Max Campion is known to have gambled away his family's vast fortune in only a few years. [[spoiler:That is true for Max Campion, but James [=McAvoy=] is not ''playing'' Max Campion. Max is actually the other guy at the table sitting ''next'' to him.]]
* InformedFlaw: The curse is described as giving Penelope the ''face'' of a pig, but all that she gets is the nose and ears. The ears themselves are often covered by her hairstyle, and are only visible on Christina Ricci in a single scene.
* ItsAllAboutMe: Edward spends the whole movie convinced that he is still involved in Penelope's life and will be a target for her retribution. He even says "she'll be coming after me" when he hears of her escape. However, until he literally walks into her living room towards the end of the movie she had not given him a second thought after he ran out of her house at the start, and did not even recognize who he was when she spoke to him on the phone.
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: After all of the angst about finding a proper suitor, it turns out [[spoiler: Penelope could have broken the curse at any time, by simply accepting herself as she was]].
* IWarnedYou: When Jessica tries to get as many blue bloods to see Penelope as possible, Wanda warns that you can't rush the selection process. Later, [[spoiler: Lemon comes bearing news that "Max Campbell" is really a fraud named Johnny Martin. Upon reeling from the truth, Wanda tells Jessica "I ''told'' you not to rush the process".]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Jessica, Penelope's mother, is generally overbearing and annoying throughout the movie, and is clearly more focused on [[ItsAllAboutMe how Penelope's condition affects her rather than Penelope.]] However, when Lemon approaches her with information she bluntly points out that his actions, and the consequences (Including the loss of his eye), were his own fault and responsibility. Lemon is clearly annoyed to the point of frustration at her attitude and rude dismissal, but he does not argue [[HeelRealization since he has already realized that he had acted improperly]].
** Jessica also gets another one earlier when she points out to Penelope that all the people that hang out with her aren't exactly her "friends" so much as they are fans who see her as a novelty.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Max's decision to leave his poker game, even though he still has chips left, indicates that his character has changed.
* LittleNo: [[spoiler: Penelope says it at her wedding to Edward when asked if she will take him for her husband.]]
* MagicRealism: The curse on Penelope is the only supernatural element to the movie, and even that is only explained by a family legend that is a century old. Lemon explicitly states that he does not even believe in the curse (Presumably attributing Penelope's appearance to a normal, if tragic, birth abnormality) and seems to regard the entire concept as farcical, even laughing when Max mentions lifting the curse.
* MamaBear: The town witch curses the Wilhern family after her daughter Clara commits suicide because Ralph had abandoned her to marry a woman of his social status.
* MockMillionaire: Max Campion has [[ImpoverishedPatrician gambled away his family fortune]], but Lemon hires him to pose as a suitor in order to get a picture of Penelope. [[spoiler:It turns out that "Max" is double-Mock, as the guy Lemon hired is not even Max Campion at all, but is an average guy named Johnny who was sitting ''next'' to Max at the poker table]].
* MovingTheGoalposts: PlayedForLaughs when Max and Penelope are discussing everything she is missing by remaining shut inside. He is shocked that she has never had a beer, but she protests that she ''has'' had a beer, and he explains that if it is not on tap then it is not a ''real'' beer.
* NoAntagonist: There is no "villain" to the movie. Lemon and Edward are adversarial, but much of the plot would happen without them, and both are ultimately not "defeated" in any way.
* NotHyperbole: Several characters mistake the description of Penelope as a pig to be metaphorical, either as a general indication that she is ugly or that she is fat. This leads to a lot of shock and surprise when they discover that she looks like an ''actual'' pig.
* [[PigMan Pig.. uh, Girl.]]
* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad: Pariodied with how everybody tiptoes around Penelope's appearance, with her mother forbidding bacon or "this little piggy" [[spoiler: and once Penelope becomes a celebrity, pig Latin is banned in schools.]]
* ProtagonistTitle
* PunishedWithUgly: An interesting case, since Penelope isn't the one who caused the curse of ugliness, she inherited it. Her mother obviously thinks ''she'' is the one being cursed.
* PurelyAestheticEra / RetroUniverse: The movie appears to be set in the same colorful non-indicative universe as ''Series/PushingDaisies'' and ''Film/{{Babe}}''.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Max gives one to Edward when the latter begins listing off how "loathsome" Penelope is. He gets right in Edward's face and says he knows what kind of person he is, "spoiled, rich Mama's boy".
* {{Reconstruction}}: The film is a reconstruction of the Fairy Tale Princess genre as a whole, which in recent years has undergone a minor {{deconstruction}} with many films placing emphasis on the unstated problems in the DamselInDistress genre of men rescuing women. Placed under a curse that everyone believes can only be broken by a marriage, the daughter of wealthy socialites looks for a man to rescue her. However, since they are only looking for blue-blood suitors all the prospective men are spoiled, self-indulged {{jerk|ass}}s who immediately judge her on her appearance and react out of fear and concern for how the situation will affect ''them''. It is only when Penelope comes to terms with herself that her curse is lifted, and she unites with her love-interest after she essentially rescues herself.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: "Max" is actually Johnny Martin, a son of a plumber whom Lemon had mistaken for Max Campion because they had been at the same poker table. The reason Johnny had declined Penelope's marriage proposal was because he knew that, as a non-blue blood, he did not have the power to break the curse.]]
* RunawayBride: Penelope, at the end, to her fiance's great relief.
* ShutUpHannibal: At one point, Edward tells Max how "ugly" Penelope is, describing her as "Nightmare ugly, Unkissable ugly". Max, who has fallen in love with her, angrily covers Edward's mouth, having had enough of his slander.
* SoBeautifulItsACurse: Edward Vanderman tries to bond with Penelope over the concept, pointing out that his good looks, respected family name and hereditary fortune mean that people expect certain things of him and force him into their own preconceptions, just like her appearance gets people to react to her a certain way. You can tell by her voice that Penelope is taking what he says with a heavy dose of skepticism and doubt, but she does give him the chance to live down to her expectations. Once he sees that the term "pig" is not metaphorical (I.e. just being ugly) he, like all the suitors before, panics and runs screaming from the house.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Had Lemon not told Jessica and Wanda [[spoiler: Max Campbell was really Johnny Martin, Penelope would've gone through life not realizing Johnny only refused to marry Penelope for fear his inability to break the curse would've [[DrivenToSuicide driven her to suicide]].]]
* SpinningPaper: One of the few modern works to use this trope.
* SuperWindowJump: Penelope's suitors are so shocked by her appearance that they normally jump out the closest window in a panic after she reveals herself. This happened so frequently that her mother had to install shatter-proof glass!
* SweetAndSourGrapes: When Penelope [[spoiler:finally accepts herself and her nose]], the curse is lifted. [[spoiler:Like make-over movies, the character may accept the "ugly" them but still get to keep the beautiful version.]] The movie ends with [[spoiler:several kids guessing the moral, like "rich people stink", concluding that "it's not the power of the curse, it's the power you give the curse". A fair aesop, but the curse is still broken instead of lived with]].
* TemptingFate: In the prologue, when Jessica is in labor, the reporters ask if she and her husband are expecting a boy or a girl. Jessica responds they'll be happy with whatever they have. At the end of the prologue, we have a GilliganCut of Jessica screaming in horror when she first looks upon her ''pig-faced'' baby girl, who just so happens to be the [[SarcasmMode lucky]] recipient of the family curse.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Subverted with Edward. The movie practically starts with his reputation being ruined by his "ravings" of a pig-faced girl. Later, when Penelope has made herself known to the world, Edward tells the public that she "belongs in a cage". [[RealityEnsues Everybody thinks he's a jerk after that]].
* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: [[spoiler: All of Penelope's life, it's been Jessica's hope to find the one suitor to break Penelope's curse, granting them "a whole new life" and a "whole new [Penelope]". But after the curse is broken, even she admits she misses Penelope's previous face, the one she grew accustomed to for 25 years.]]
** [[spoiler: And then she ''immediately'' starts critiquing Penelope's new nose, giving her a new thing to fixate on.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: It's not easy for Lemon to tell Jessica [[spoiler: the truth about Johnny Martin]] when she keeps spouting [[JerkassHasAPoint reminders that losing his eye was his own fault]]. He could've walked out of there, and nobody would've been the wiser. But even with mounting frustration, he tells her regardless.
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* YourCheatingHeart: Ella and Lenord Wilhern's daughter is not born with the curse because she isn't Leonard's daughter, she's the result of an affair her mother had with their driver.

* IWarnedYou: When Jessica tries to get as many blue bloods to see Penelope as possible, Wanda warns that you can't rush the selection process. Later, [[spoiler: Lemon comes bearing news that "Max" is really a fraud named Johnny Morrow. Upon reeling from the truth, Wanda tells Jessica "I ''told'' you not to rush the process".]]

%%* BrokenAesop: The film has essentially the same problem as ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' -- once she learns to accept her own appearance as an ugly person with a pig nose, she transforms into an attractive Christina Ricci.

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, as well as Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively small supporting role), and Creator/BurnGorman, Creator/NickFrost and Creator/RussellBrand in minor roles.

* YourCheatingHeart: Ella and Lenord Wilhern's daughter is not born with the curse because she isn't Leonard's daughter, she's the result of an affair her mother had with their driver.

** HeelFaceDoorSlam: [[spoiler: An already stressed-out Jessica makes it abundantly clear that she's not one bit sorry for putting Lemon's eye out.]]

* HomericHash: A mix of allusions to the Odyssey starting with the heroine's name and resistance to her suitors, and including the transformation by a witch (Circe) into a pig and Lemon's Cyclopean aspect.

* BigFancyHouse
* BrokenAesop: The film has essentially the same problem as ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast'' -- once she learns to accept her own appearance as an ugly person with a pig nose, she transforms into an attractive Christina Ricci.

* {{Curse}}: Breaking the HereditaryCurse is what all the action hinges on. [[spoiler:Penelope's mom gets one of her own after ''she still doesn't get the curse's moral despite some explaining''.]]

* DisturbedDoves: When Penelope runs away.

** [[spoiler: And then she ''immediately'' starts critiquing Penelope's new nose, giving her a new thing to fixate on.]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Not only do cell/mobile phones and the internet apparently not exist, it's questionable whether ''answering machines'' even exist given the fact several characters are shown surrounded by tons of phones. Notably, said phones are all corded, and Penelope has no trouble finding payphones to use. Something of a plot point is made of Penelope's dowry, a practise no longer in play in modern day America (at least, officially, though, there might still be some cases of a form of NobilityMarriesMoney quietly happening). The clothing, however, is distinctively 1990s/2000s, credit card usage is apparently common, and things such shatterproof glass exist.

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, with supporting characters played by Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively small supporting role), with Creator/BurnGorman, Creator/NickFrost and Creator/RussellBrand in minor roles.

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, with supporting characters played by Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara, Creator/RichardEGrant, Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively minor role) and Creator/BurnGorman.

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, with supporting characters played by Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara, Creator/RichardEGrant and Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively minor role).

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, with supporting characters played Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara, Creator/RichardEGrant and Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively minor role).

''Penelope'' is a 2006 RomanticComedy film directed by Mark Palansky with a wide release in 2008. It stars Creator/ChristinaRicci and Creator/JamesMcAvoy as the romantic leads, with supporting characters played Creator/PeterDinklage, Simon Woods, Catherine O'Hara and Creator/ReeseWitherspoon (who received primary billing, despite a relatively minor role).

* WantingIsBetterThanHaving: [[spoiler: All of Penelope's life, it's been Jessica's hope to find the one suitor to break Penelope's curse, granting them "a whole new life" and a "whole new [Penelope]". But after the curse is broken, even she admits she misses Penelope's previous face, the one she grew accustomed to for 25 years.]]

After being produced in 2006 the film was stuck in Release Hell, unable to find a distributor for several years after the movie had been completed. Eventually, Summit Entertainment purchased distribution rights in the United States for a 2008 release.