A Cinderella Story

by Bill Henry on Jul.16, 2004, under Bill Henry's Movie Reviews

Bill’s Review

In a half-year that has already seen such unendurable kiddie fare/grrl empowerment junk as Sleepover and Catch That Kid, I still believed that the Hilary Duff vehicle A Cinderella Story would stand out. The temptation is to simply give it a zero and move on. But that would be as dishonest as Ms. Duffâ€™s claiming to be an entertainer. I did find some modest enjoyment near the end of this updated Cinderella story.
It is not the talentless Ms. Duffâ€™s fault that we have already had a good post-modern Cinderella story in the recent screen adaptation of Gail Carson Levineâ€™s book Ella Enchanted. However, she does get to take the blame for the worthless movie that her mother produced. The movie is so dully conceived and executed (execution, good idea) that one is almost encouraged to think that it was done deliberately. More likely, this movie is the result of a lengthy process of pandering, dumbing-down, and placating. Although there is no real up-side for someone who owes her career and fame to an unwatchable, narrowly-focused television series, to take a chance and do something she could be proud of, you would think that a casual glance to a potential future career where she might actually be expected to be something besides Lizzie McGuire would make the difference. The chumps that Ms. Duff cheerfully exploits (a.k.a. her fan base) would not know the difference between a good story and her usual crud, so why doesnâ€™t she or her handlers take a bit of her barely-earned wealth and buy something worthwhile?
The movie is a standard issue Cinderella update moved to contemporary California. After Dad takes a powder, evil stepmonster (Jennifer Coolidge) shucks the fat suit (in the Hilary universe she loses points both for being fat as well as for trying to change), installs requisite evil stepsisters in the better bedrooms, and installs Sam/Cinderella in the garret. Further, she is â€œpunishedâ€ by being â€œforcedâ€ to work in the family diner (the business that provides her food, clothing, etc.). The movie also has a bit of a nasty streak when it comes to the working class, but I have already made the mistake of taking this drivel almost seriously.
The long-suffering Sam is beset upon both at home and in school where she is the target of the â€œmean girls.â€ Indeed, they lay Hilaryâ€™s martyr routine on so thickly that after a while I could not enjoy it anymore. Perhaps if Duff were even an adequate actress, she could have conned me into thinking that she was really being tortured, but alas she is not.
For me, the most enjoyable part of the movie came near the end (well, actually, the most enjoyable part was the very end) when we were nearing the point at which all would be put right which coincided with the point in the plot where our Sam is watching her boyfriend (Chad Michael Murray, a fellow TV refugee, who, unlike Ms. Duff appears to have some modicum of acting ability) play in the big homecoming game. Having little else to occupy my thoughts, I tried to think of what would be the cheesiest possible story twist they could come up with. And then, to my surprise, screenwriter Leigh Dunlap managed to come up with something even stupider. I roared with laughter at the horror. It was the most amusement that Ms. Duff has ever afforded me in her career.
So a Bangles cover courtesy of the Duff sisters (yes, additional spawn) over the end credits and we can all go on with our lives. But the only happily ever after for movie audiences will come when someone drives a stake though Hilary Duffâ€™s career (or her, I am not picky). Attention, Lindsay Lohane a grateful nation needs you to take one for the team.