“So are you hiding from the law or is it just a bad nose job?”

Justin’s rating: Don’t stick your nose into this unless you’re willing to be changed by it

Justin’s review: Probably the most unrealistic part of Penelope, a quirky fantasy romcom that nobody seems to  remember, is that having a pig’s nose would somehow keep guys away if every other part of you is Christina Ricci. I think the filmmakers took creative liberties by overlooking the sheer desperation of a segment of men out there.

Penelope (Ricci) is a girl who has the extremely odd fortune of being born into a generations-old family curse, causing her to sport a pig’s nose and ears. This is a deep embarrassment to her blue blood family, which fakes her death and tries to figure out what the heck to do with her.*

The hope is that the curse can be broken if a suitor would love her just as she is, but since everyone keeps screaming and running away in revulsion, that proves to be somewhat difficult.

Immediately, Penelope gives off a charming fairy tale vibe that seems to sample from Disney’s oeuvre, including Tangled, Cinderella, and Beauty and the Beast. She’s spent her life hidden away as a monster, kept from socializing outside of the family… until a flawed romantic interest named Johnny (James McAvoy) encourages her to venture out into public — she wears a scarf for the most part — and start her life for real.

Meanwhile, Penelope’s mother (Catherine O’Hara) can’t stop being overbearing and a tabloid reporter named Lemon (Peter Dinklage) is trying to get the scoop to expose her. She does make friends with Reese Witherspoon on the outside, while Johnny looks to get his own life together before he can be the suitor that she deserves.

It should be stressed that Penelope isn’t your standard romcom fare. Sure, there’s romance — McAvoy and Ricci are adorable in their interactions — and it’s consistently light-hearted and humorous. But it’s also well off the path of realism and into the realm of dreamlike fantasy. This is a world with real curses, after all.

There’s not much to nitpick here, truly. Perhaps I could point out that the romantic leads don’t get nearly as much time together as you would want in a romcom. And I’m not the only one who’s pointed out that Penelope still looks very fetching even with her nose, which kind of defeats the conflict.

Probably Penelope’s best analogues would be movies like Stardust, Shrek, and Ella Enchanted. It’s visually interesting, sweet-hearted, and full of great character actors. Simple? Sure, but I didn’t mind. Seeing damaged people taking steps toward healing and recovery is a story I like to see again and again.

*If you’re thinking, “Why don’t they just pay for some plastic surgery?” then the movie has an answer for that — Penelope’s nose has a major artery running through it that would kill her if cut.