48
Metascore
29 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Film ThreatFilm ThreatAn extraordinarily charming movie.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe result is an entertaining comedy for young girls and older girls who still like a good romantic fable.
- 63ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's not the best of modern fairy tales but it's sincere and Christina Ricci's earnest and vulnerable performance touches the heart. Penelope is flawed but not irredeemably so.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsChicago TribuneMichael PhillipsI wish it were truly special instead of an interesting near-miss.
- 60Village VoiceVillage VoiceRicci is appealingly human, and some acknowledgement of the importance of female friendship, in addition to romance, is faintly touching.
- 50VarietyDavid RooneyVarietyDavid RooneyThe whimsical ugly-duckling fable becomes more uneven as it proceeds, straining too hard to manufacture its quirky charms.
- 50Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanThere are usually good reasons why a movie gets shelved for more than a year, however well-acted it may be and however well-meaning its message. Many are on view in Penelope.
- 40Austin ChronicleAustin ChronicleIt’s as if Caveny had so many ideas that she simply couldn’t bear to leave any of them crumpled up on her office floor.
- 38Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversPenelope is dead on arrival.
- 0Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanIs there anything more dull than an ineptly cynical fairy tale?