A Cinderella Story (2004)

Sadly Over-hyped

People are voting emotionally.

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A Cinderella Story (2004) is a very cute/charming and sometimes funny teenage update of the 1950s classic Disney cartoon. Hilary Duff is good in the lead role, and so is her love interest Chad Michael Murray. Jennifer Coolidge was wonderfully cast as the wicked stepmother. Also Regina King is one of my favorite parts of the whole movie, she has some hilarious one liners and pieces of dialogue. The movie isn't something to hold up as one of the greatest movies ever made, but it's sweet, enjoyable and fun. I'd suggest this one as a good fit for a family movie night. The mix between the sweet endearing moments and the funny moments are nice and balanced, and the humor isn't 100% slapstick, which I was thankful for because that really isn't that funny to me and it gets old and tiresome. 8/10 overall for A Cinderella Story.

There really is nothing noteworthy or commendable about this movie. The plot is a straight-ahead take on the Cinderella classic; only instead of a dilapidated manor, it's the suburbs, high school, and a diner. The Fiona and stepsister characters are despicable but not in a fun way. Some characters are meant to be hated and you have a good time doing so. Some characters are hated and you just want them off the screen as quickly as possible. This film is overflowing with the latter.Hillary Duff and Chad Murray are boring. I could not care less about anything Duff said, and I could not care less about Murray in any sense.The story points are all contrived and unoriginal.The only character that approaches likability is Rhonda. She's nice and supportive of Sam and all; we'll keep her. Paul Rodriguez is wasted on this movie. Overall, just a boring waste of time. Total fluff. If you want a Cinderella-type story, go watch the classic Disney animation and get the real thing. This is a sorry knock-off.

A Cinderella Story is a charming reiteration of the timeless animated Disney film, featuring a charming performance by Hillary Duff, who always looks charming with her smiley charisma and beautiful blonde hair, boasting a charming story about a charming girl who is cursed with hell and highwater between her not-so charming stepmother and stepdaughters, with her only vice being the charming boy she keeps texting and instant messaging in hopes to lead a life like the charming fantasies her charming father used to read her. In short, the whole entire movie is pretty charming.Hillary Duff's character is Sam, who works at her father's diner, which is now owned by her stepmother from hell (Jennifer Coolidge). Regardless of the kind of endless grief the woman causes her, Sam must obey each and every order given to her by her stepmother for any hope of getting the money to go to Princeton University (her father told her that's the college princesses go to in order to find their prince). Sam slogs away at the diner, while finding the time to text and IM a guy by the username of "Nomad," who goes to the same school she does. Sam doesn't know, however, that this person just so happens to be the all-star football jock Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), a kid whose exterior shows a tough, attractive, popular kid but whose interior lies a closeted poet, silenced by his domineering father, who has Austin's life preprogrammed for him.Austin wants to get together with Sam at the Halloween homecoming dance, where he requests that Sam meet him in the center of the dance floor at the stroke of 11:00pm. When the two meet, Sam is boasting a Phantom-mask, with a gorgeous ballgown, while Austin just so happened to dress like Prince Charming personified. The two exchange more deep, intimate talks, like the ones they held over the phone and computer, all the while Sam can't believe she is talking to Austin, who may not like her when he sees who she really is - just an ordinary girl. This complicates the relationship between the two as, after the dance, Austin can't track down his Cinderella and Sam is neurotic and inert about the whole entire event.I'm aware how frothy A Cinderella Story sounds, and here's where you expect me to say that, if one looks deeper into the material, they'll find a pleasant, winning film. That's simply not true; what you see is what you get with A Cinderella Story, but what you see is certainly acceptable. As incredulous as it is and as silly as the whole thing can be, one must not forget it's a live-action, reimagining of the classic fairytale Cinderella, which is, essentially, as incredulous and as silly as it sounds too. The modern reimagining features pleasant updates, such as the differences in communication, a more suburban setting, providing for more close-to-home features, and a more recognizable cast of characters in addition.Then there's Duff, who has the ability to light up the dreariest screenplay and detract from its shortcomings if she sucks up and lets out one of her many illuminating smiles. The film was directed by Mark Rosman, who has worked with Duff on numerous projects and really knows how to position her and make her versatile in her emotions, to boot, with Duff showing about the same level of acceptable emotional range as she did in Raise Your Voice. In addition, there's Murray, who, aside from being labeled as someone "who made standards way to high for young girls," according to my friend Katie, can convey multiple different personalities nicely, as if he is really playing dual roles in his life as well. Then there's Coolidge, who goes from playing the most desirable mom in America to the most loathsome in an unexpectedly devious and enjoyable performance as one of the most dastardly mothers in recent memory.A Cinderella Story won't break any particularly new ground, nor will it captivate those disillusioned by the lackluster market of teen films. However, I applaud the fact that it takes a more human approach to fairy tales, in the sense that they're modernizing them and incorporating stories with actual human beings and not decorating them with expensive sets, detailed makeup, and forgetting everything in the way of character and development. Unlike Duff's previous efforts, like Raise Your Voice, that were so, so close at developing a functional story about teenage life but falling short, A Cinderella Story rebounds with more under its sleeve than the average film of the genre, making for a warmhearted family affair.Starring: Hillary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, and Regina King. Directed by: Mark Rosman.

There are many ways to tell a story, but only a few of them work as an original piece. It's an odd saying, but it's possible. This version of Cinderella does perform well with updating the material. Yet, every part was still predictable. I don't see the connection. The scenes were original but the order that they came in, were too obvious. How did writer Leigh Dunlap miss that?The story of this movie runs fairly parallel to its predecessors. An attractive female is bullied and annoyed by her stepfamily and "more popular" people in high school. That is, until she runs into the guy of her dreams. Playing the "Cinderella" character (Sam Montgomery), who works constantly at her father's diner, is Hilary Duff. Duff was a great choice because of her girly figure and innocent voice. Her prince charming is Chad Michael Murray and he's also a good choice because of his masculine build and gentle voice. Not to mention, both Duff and Murray look lovely together.The rest of the co-stars are wonderful additions too. Dan Byrd is funny as Sam's close friend due to how prone he is at getting himself in awkward situations. Even Sam's diner co-workers have their great moments too. And it's great to see that they are there to support her as well. Jennifer Coolidge was an accurate choice for Sam's stepmother. One of the best parts is when she's swerving on the road and can't show an upset face because her botox treatment did not wear off yet. How embarrassing! And the stepsisters are no better either.The whole idea of having the original story modernized was an ample touch. Instead of having a fairy godmother and being magically given a dress, she's given a gorgeous dress from a close friend at work. Rather than having the magic spell dissipate, Sam had a timer of when to let her know that she had to leave the dance. And in place of the glass slipper that was left behind, was her cell phone. All the substitutions were amusing to see because they made Sam have an exact "Cinderella" story but without the magic.The music by Christophe Beck was a nice addition as well. His ability to create the feelings for when they are needed is done pleasingly. One other thing I didn't see possible though was how Murray's character was able to set up search and rescue fliers for the "Cinderella" character that he danced with. Doesn't he have classes? I mean he is a teenager and he's looking for his date but schools don't allow match findings to become public on school walls. How did he get away with that? Is that he that good looking?The transitions between scenes are quite obvious but the direction is great as a modernized rendition. The characters are welcoming, as is the way the plot follows through.