Penelope, a review

I am not a fan of fairy tales or dark comedy, but this one takes the cake for being the most entertaining one I've watched so far. When a girl from a very wealthy family was cursed and born to look like a pig, Penelope was hidden from the outside world by her parents. With only the hope of finding one true love from "one of their own" as a solution to the curse, her mother employs the best dating agency in the country in hopes of finding her a match.

In the end, like in reality, no one wishes to marry the cursed Penelope. As the lines of suitors, who were initially enamored of her very impressive dowry dwindles, she decided to break free and experience the world on her own.

With a story plot like this, one would expect a story book ending. That Penelope would find prince charming or in this case, Mr. Right, who would love her despite her looks, break the curse and live with her happily ever after. However, in this movie I was made to realize that the phrase "one of our own" include ourselves and that Penelope, her mother and the rest of her family could have broken the curse years ago had they learned to accept and love her despite her appearance.

I was bothered that I never expected this ending, nor have I thought in that "love thyself" direction. I, who have always believed in self empowerment have expected her to find her one true love amidst all the snobby, hypocritical guys. I'm a dreamer I know, but I hate to think that if one's look is not good enough that we just have to be content with getting love from ourselves( mom's also included).