| Product: |
A Cinderella Story (DVD) |
| Date: |
02.03.08 (66 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Great for those aged between 5 and 13 if you want to shut them up for an hour and a half.
Disadvantages: Bad acting, bad plotline, no chemistry and it always feels quite amateurly done.
Oh Hilary what did you do? Not contented with a mediocre musical career, you've decided to head down the route of films. Why would you put us through that??
PLot: Sam (Hilary Duff) is a bit of a loner at school, despite being very pretty, she doesn't have the confidence to make her into one of the popular girls. She is however in an almost internet relationship with a guy who she's yet to discover the identity of, who surprise surprise turns out to be the most popular guy in school Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray- One Tree Hill). The two meet at a ball, where she wears a wedding dress (cheese anyone?) and a mask, so he can't work out who she is. Now call me a cycnic, but what kind of idiot can't see through a mask which only just covers the outside of someone's eyes?! Especially seeing as he frequented the café where she worked, and spoke to her on occassions.
Anyone, as the two work around their issues, Sam's evil step-sisters and step-mum plot to ruin her, by telling her she failed to get into Princeton (even though she succeeded) and keeping her dead father's will hidden away so that Sam didn't get anything.
There's no need to give away the ending because it's obvious. And may I mentioned badly done.
Duff is never convicing in her role, in the one scene where she tries to stand up to her step-mum it's so poorly done, lacking any emotion and so clearly forced that it's almost time to turn the tv off. There is very little chemistry between her and Murray, which is a shame because he's a very talented actor as his previous works in American Series shows.
There are vast quanities of inconsistency in the film, resorting to jokes about botox, and dressing up in giant cat suits to try and pool some laughs. Sam and Austin's relationship is supposed to take place over mobiles but their phones are never actually switched on, and especially at the ball where her friend sets an alarm to make sure they get back before midnight, he clicks one button, then closes the phone. It's also strange that Sam doesn't realise that she's been missing her phone until about 5 days after the ball, is she truly that unsociable?!
The film is cute enough on occassions, and if you're in a really good mood you could probably find it funny. But Duff's infuriating accent, the wooden acting by all of the cast and the regurgitated storyline all just make for a film that's rather painful to watch.
Summary: If only she could actually turn into a pumpkin at midnight.
|
|
