This is a cute film. It bleeds cute. Cute oozes from every pore. It’s a touching tale of true love and romance and broken hearts and sweet redemption and lessons learned. I personally thought that some of the performances were a bit too lack luster, but I never really lost interest. Christina Ricci as Penelope does a good job, but not spectacular. I have enjoyed her thoroughly in the past so I have a hard time completely discounting any role she is in, but I am not certain that this was her most brilliant performance. James McAvoy is very impressive lately. He has opened my eyes to just how great he is. Versatile is a word I’d use to describe him. From Romeo in Atonement, to a gun slinging, ass kicking assassin in Wanted, he is proving to me that he can really shine in a variety of different roles. Here he does a good job of portraying a down on is luck gambler who finds himself strangely drawn to and ultimately changed by the one and only pig faced girl. Of course I couldn’t leave this section without mentioning Peter Dinklage as the one eyed reporter begging for a snapshot or a story or any piece of evidence that this girl exists. He plays a sweet role, albeit a bit tiny (no pun intended). I enjoyed his style here and he really gets into emotion in a lot of the roles he plays. He has a face that can show you a thousand different things from one minute to the next.

       All in all this is a lovely story with a fairytale tinge to it. Reese Witherspooon provides a token cameo that just adds a bit of flavor to the whole thing. It will certainly amuse you and it’s something that can be enjoyed by any member of the family. For a carefree jaunt that takes you out of your mind for a while and delivers a bit of an emotional punch roped with a heartwarming after effect, "sniff" out Penelope.