PENELOPE
RYAN: Sadly, I saw one of my favorite films of 2008 without you. It’s “Penelope,” a fairy tale; and it’s got everything from a witch and a curse to magic and love to castles and Reese Witherspoon. You had to know I was gonna j’adore it.
CAROLINE: Don’t forget Christina Ricci in the lead role.
RYAN: She’s so good in this, but then again I think she’s great in everything she does. To me she’s one of the best young American actresses out there. She’s just underrated because she’s not as gorgeous as, say, Scarlett Johansson.
CAROLINE: She’s pretty hot though. Remember her in “Black Snake Moan”? Her body was sick.
RYAN: She’s looked great ever since she did “Ally McBeal” Season 5.
CAROLINE: I was sad to miss “Penelope” too. I only did because I was out of town and you couldn’t be bothered to wait for me to see it.
RYAN: Honey, I couldn’t! I was dying to see this movie.
CAROLINE: I like how Reese Witherspoon produced it but didn’t put herself in the lead role.
RYAN: How do you spell modest? Witherspoon! The role she plays is appropriate but very different for her. She portrays a biker chick and she’s really convincing. No big shock there. She’s a great actress. She should win an Oscar someday.
CAROLINE: [laughs’ So was the movie everything you’d hoped for and more? Isn’t it about Christina Ricci with a pig snout looking for her ain true love?
RYAN: I really don’t want to give away any plot, but it’s a romantic fairy tale. James McAvoy of “Atonement” does such a phenomenal American accent, and Catherine O’Hara as Penelope’s mom is downright hilarious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so funny before.
CAROLINE: She cracks me up in everything she does, especially “Best in Show.” Remember though, this movie was supposed to come out last fall and then got bumped to late February, so that’s a really bad sign.
RYAN: I know that’s usually the case, but disregard that here. This movie is an exception that rule. It’s well done from beginning to end, the soundtrack is amazing and it’s shot for shot gorgeous. As I was watching it, I thought “Here’s a DVD I’ll be buying and watching again and again.”
CAROLINE: I love when you pre-order movies in your heart.
RYAN: I think the best thing about this movie is how unpredictable it is. I saw it with our friend Derek and we’re both relatively bright guys.
CAROLINE: I concur.
RYAN: And even though we both were totally speculating about the outcome, we were both so off.
CAROLINE: Wow. You’re usually dead-on in your predictions of where a movie is going. Bottom line?
RYAN: See it. Love it. Live it.