James McAvoy’s 2006 Rom Com Flop Has Just Landed on Netflix

Summary:

• Netflix keeps expanding its enormous collection of old movies by having a special arrival of a 2006 fantasy rom com that didn’t do well back then, but yet remained one of the favorite romantic films of those times.
• Starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, the movie follows a young heiress born with the snout of a pig due to a curse placed on her family who has to find herself a true and forever love to break the spell.
• Despite all the initial expectations, the movie for now is available for streaming only in the UK.

Netflix seemingly heard everyone’s prayers a while ago and is now bombing its viewers with more movies and shows that come straight from the 2000s.

With all the excitement that old rom coms receive on the streaming now, no matter how bad they turned out to be back in the day, some big flops from the previous years have all chances to be brought to light once again. This week marks Netflix’s several new arrivals, including a 2006 fantasy rom com starring James McAvoy.

Some young viewers may not quite believe this, but McAvoy, now mostly renowned thanks to his pretty sinister roles in Split and It Chapter Two, was a big romantic back in the 2000s. The actor starred in the Keira Knightley-led war drama Atonement in 2007, but before that he got one of the main roles in a much more unserious comedy movie Penelope.

The film, despite having a big upside of the star-packed cast including Christina Ricci, Catherine O’Hara, Peter Dinklage, and Reese Witherspoon, still turned out to be an overall fiasco, though Netflix viewers may still seize the opportunity to give it another shot.

Produced by rom com expert Reese Witherspoon, Penelope follows young heiress Penelope Wilhern who, being a victim of a curse, was born with the snout of a pig and thus has been forced to hide her innate feature from everyone else around her.

Knowing that the only way to break the curse is to find someone who will love her unconditionally, Penelope arranges meetings with potential suitors to finally find her match, but nobody seems to be the right fit until one special man comes in her way.

The whole story would be a perfect Disney fairytale if it wasn’t for Penelope’s love interest himself who turns out to be a false bachelor being a part of a big conspiracy against Penelope.

Upon its release back in 2006, Penelope kicked it off with quite modest results, garnering only $20 million in the box office and landing scores of 53% and 73% from the critics and viewers respectively.

Despite that, the movie is still one of the favorite rom coms to go with when it comes to the early years’ nostalgia, and its official arrival at Netflix will surely make Penelope resurface in the media.

Penelope can now be streamed on Netflix, but only in the UK.