CORPORATE LINE: It’s a twisted and hilarious update of the classic fairy tale – high school senior Sam Montgomery (HILARY DUFF) lives at the beck and call of her self-obsessed step-mother Fiona (JENNIFER COOLIDGE) and her sinfully wicked step-sisters, who treat her more like a servant than a member of the family.
With her sights set on attending Princeton, Sam finds her less-than-sparkling social life wonderfully complicated when she meets her prince charming online. But when her anonymous cyber soul mate turns out to be her high school’s über-popular quarterback Austin Ames (CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY), Sam makes a mad dash back to reality, leaving her cell phone behind just before the clock strikes midnight. Fearing rejection if her secret is revealed, Sam dodges Austin’s efforts to discover the identity of his princess. Sam will either let fear hold her back or find the courage to be herself and claim the life she’s always wanted. Her chance at happily ever after depends on it.
THE GOOD: For Hilary Duff fans, this movie delivers the beloved teen actress intact with her signature sweetness. Duff’s character, Sam, is a beauty waiting to blossom – a modern-day Cinderella. But Sam suffers the ill fate of having to endure the tyranny of her wicked stepmother and her goofy stepsisters. Duff’s character doesn’t feel like a stretch in the acting department. Yet, fans will probably appreciate the fact that they get to see her on the big screen acting out the ups and downs of a high school girl’s biggest problems: boys, family, school, and oh yeah, establishing your own unique identity as a young woman.
The message of this movie is well-intentioned and for the most part, it succeeds. Sam starts off trapped in a world of servitude to her evil stepmother. Her happiest escape seems to be trading instant messages with her unknown Prince Charming. In the end, Sam has to decide whether to keep living in the fantasy world or go after what she truly wants in real life. This Cinderella decides to empower herself, which is a marked difference from the original fairytale character.
There are also some humorous moments peppered throughout the movie. Overall, younger audiences will appreciate this humor more than the older crowd.
THE BAD: Despite its high school setting, this movie is definitely geared to Duff’s younger fans. “A Cinderella Story” is the nice girl’s take on the “Means Girls” world. The more sophisticated teen audiences probably won’t enjoy it as much as the younger fans.
The biggest crime of this movie is the under-utilization of Jennifer Coolidge as the wicked stepmother. Even though Coolidge delivers her signature sass, one can’t help but notice that she almost feels held back in the movie (perhaps the result of playing off a younger group of actors with far less comedic experience).
And finally, reality sticklers will struggle with the concept of the lovely Hilary Duff playing the “normal” & average-looking girl in high school. It’s quite obviously not true, at least as far as outwardly appearances go. Then again, this is a fairytale.
FRANKLY: Young fans of Hilary Duff will delight in seeing their teen queen on the big screen playing out this sugar-coated Cinderella story. However, older audience members probably won’t be so forgiving.
+ Jeffrey Kroitsch
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