A Cinderella Story (2004)

A Cinderella Story (2004): Dir: Mark Rosman / Cast: Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, Regina King, Dan Byrd: Yet another take on Cinderella although processed more as a teen targeted satire than Ever After. Hilary Duff is under the ruling of her wicked stepmother and her spoiled stepsisters after her father died in an earthquake. She slaves in a diner but secretly chats with a guy via Internet. As simple plots go they will narrowly avoid each other without knowing it. Screenplay is rubbish although young girls may enjoy its clean wholesome charm. Director Mark Rosman brings a modern day reality to it. Duff has charm but at the mercy of lame writing. Chad Michael Murray plays football captain whom communicates with her through Internet chat sites. When she wears an eye mask at the dance he seems not to know who she is so when she loses her slipper he is at a loss that no intelligent person would be fooled by. Jennifer Coolidge is the one casting that steals in her portrayal of the wicked stepmother who slaves Duff yet becomes the ultimate foil. Regina King is cardboard as Duff's diner friend whom looks out for her. Dan Byrd plays Duff's irritating friend who occupies scenes on the basis of being like a kid needing attention. Unlike Ever After the modern day elements are replaced by dreary teen clichés and foolish fantasy references. Score: 3 ½ / 10

This is a basically a modern update of the fairy tale.Samantha Martin is faced with the situation with the untimely death of his father.This leaves the diner that he owns and her care under her stepmother Fiona.Her stepmother asked her to do all the menial tasks such as dishwashing,cleaning and mopping floors.At school,she is treated badly as well by Shelby,who happens to be a spoiled,wealthy and popular.Things change after a misplaced cellphone and a series of coincidence happen which led to a romance developed between her and a Prince Charming through constant text messaging and emails.Later,they promise to meet face-to-face on the biggest school dance and later realizes that that her prince happens to be Austin,the most popular student in school.Too bad that this film was simply generic,unfunny and undemanding there very limited thinking required.Added to that,there is nothing refreshing at all as the stereotype characters are simply brought back.No question about it that this was an insult to Charles Perrault's classic story.

As I said in my summary line, this is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's just so fantastic. It's a great take on Cinderella with modern themes and it's just wonderful.In this movie, a young girl loses her father and her mean step-mother now has control over her life. With two wicked step-sisters to boss her around, Samantha is just sick of being treated this way. She starts having an online relationship with a guy from her school. She doesn't know who he is and he doesn't know who she is. It turns out that he's one of the most popular guys in school. When he asks her to meet her at the masquerade ball, they meet, connect, and even have a kiss. But since "Cinderella" wasn't supposed to be at the ball, she must run away before midnight, so she can get home to great her terrible family. She drops her cellphone and "Prince Charming" uses it to find out who the girl is. By the end, Samantha and her prince have began their proper relationship and her step-mother is now being controlled by her, since she lied about Samantha getting her father's diner in his will. Everything ends well.Overall, I give this movie a 10 out of 10.

Kiley Marriott June 14th, 2012 LA II Movie review A Cinderella StoryA Cinderella Story is a movie inspired by the classic "Cinderella" princess fairytale, put into a real-life teen scenario, sprinkled with some over-exaggeration and high school stereotypes. The family-friendly romance is played by the gorgeous Hilary Duff and the handsome Chad Michael Murray, accompanied with Jennifer Coolidge. Although the actors are quite well-recognized, the rest of the crew is not. A Cinderella Story was directed by Mark Rosman (The man who also directed the Lizzie McGuire TV series) and released in 2004 by Warner Bros. When Sam Montgomery (Hilary Duff) loses her father at an early age his dreadful wife Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), who can also be referred to as the Evil Stepmother, takes over Sam's life making her attend high school, work as a diner girl (At Fionas inherited business) and erasing any chance Sam has at a successful future. The only good things in Sam's life are her best friend Carter, her co-worker Rhonda, and her secret admirer/internet pen pal, "Nomad." High school life is made dreadful for Sam by the popular kids, Shelby, Shelby's crew, Shelby's boyfriend Austin Ames, and Sam's "Evil stepsisters" Brianna & Gabriella. The story takes place in the San Fernando Valley, California, present day. Tormented by her evil step mom Fiona, Sam Montgomery's life isn't the slightest bit easy. Between working full time, attending high school, and secretly trying to save up for college, poor Sam's stress levels are escalating. I won't even mention how Shelby, the popular girl at school, has to go out of her way to embarrass Sam every chance she gets, constantly calling her "Diner Girl" and making sly remarks to her unpopularity. The only thing that keeps pushing Sam forward is her texting pal "Nomad," whom she's never met in person but seems to be quite the Prince Charming. They both dream of attending Princeton College and getting away from everyone in their town, if only their parents weren't holding them back. When "Nomad" wittingly tells Sam to meet him at the Halloween school dance, in the center of the dance floor, she overloads, feeling all too excited and nervous at once. After her best friends Rhonda and Carter talk her into going and set her up with a dress and masquerade mask, she flees to the dance only to find out Fiona wants her at the diner at midnight, and Fiona can't find out Sam attended the dance. Finally, Sam makes it to the center of the dance floor, where she meets "Nomad," who is no letdown, he is actually the beautiful Austin Ames. The two share a romantic dance together but before Sam can tell Austin who she really is, she realizes she has to get back to the diner pronto! Sam races back to the diner, just in time to play it off as though she's been working and through a series of events, Sam and Austin end up together. Glamour and luxury become nonexistent in Fiona's life after the police find out she had lied about Sam's father's will, and "Diner Girl" becomes "Princeton-bound Girl" along with her "Prince Charming" Austin. A big part of this movie is when Fiona storms into the diner, knocking down a guitar (And wallpaper with it) revealing the words "DON'T LET THE FEAR OF STRIKING OUT KEEP YOU FROM PLAYING THE GAME." I believe the theme of this movie is to go after what you want, don't let others get in the way of your happiness. If you feel like you belong somewhere in life, get there. You need to strive for it, push for it, make it happen. If Sam had not worked so hard in school and taken chances to meet "Nomad" she never would have gotten either. Sam dreamed, Sam desired, Sam succeeded. You can too. A Cinderella Story can easily be applied to anyone's everyday life. We all know someone who is that drama queen, stuck up kid, or stereotypical snob; someone who only thinks of themselves, wears way too much makeup or reads far too many magazines; someone who puts way too much of their time in making others happy, never gives themselves a break, and dreams of something that seems so hard to reach. The characters in this movie can be compared to tons of people we know and the lessons learned in this movie are all ones we have to accept some time in our lives. The storyline and message of this movie are basically written out for us, not hidden between twisted meanings. You have to work towards what you want, overcome who brings you down, find what makes you happy and never let go. I enjoyed this movie because it contains no twisted story lines, nor gruesome torture, nor haunting tales. A Cinderella Story is simply a cute movie with a fairy-tale feel. By my judgment, I would recommend A Cinderella Story to anyone who is just looking for a easygoing love story. Knowing a basic boy, this movie probably isn't for you. However, if you are looking for a feel-good cinema and an all age show, pop this film in your DVD player and laugh along with some cheesy jokes and big smiles.