Post by StevePulaski on Jul 22, 2014 18:25:12 GMT -5
A Cinderella Story (2004)
Directed by: Mark Rosman
Directed by: Mark Rosman
Hillary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.
Rating: ★★★
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 fairytales, 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.