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Tuesday, 2 August 2011

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Cindy re-make



A scene from the movie A Cinderella Story

The popular fairytale, Cinderella has served as an inspiration for countless films. The idea of the poor but pretty step daughter who elevates to the rank of a ‘princess’ and steals the ‘prince’s’ heart is a common theme in most romantic films. Even classic favourites like My Fair Lady and Pretty Woman embody fragments of the Cinderella tale.

The story has been told and retold throughout the years but had withstood time.

After all everyone likes a happy ending in which the star-crossed lovers are united by destiny. However though it is a safe plot to turn into a film, it takes a lot more work to turn it into a production in which the director could offer anything new to the hackneyed fairytale. This is the true test and one that A Cinderella Story director Mark Rosman and writer Leigh Dunlap seem to have tackled and overcome in some instances of the film.

Though the film is a triumph on the entertainment side, it seems to embody mainly light entertainment. The story may keep you engaged with its suspense, comedy and visual beauty but there are only a few features that are special about it. It is the original Cinderella tale set in the modern world, with the wicked stepmother, spoilt stepsisters and handsome Prince Charming who seems to be beyond Cinderella’s reach.

Centring on a girl named Samantha Montgomery aka Sam, A Cinderella Story opens in the Los Angeles suburbs. The first few episodes project Sam as a child playing baseball with her father.

Her life takes a new turn when her father decides to marry Fiona, a woman that he encounters at Sam’s birthday party. Later her father informs the young lass that she should apply for Princeton College because ‘that’s where princesses go to college’. Thus her fate is sealed. The little girl will one day grow up to become a beautiful young woman who will win over her prince and make it into Princeton where they will ‘live happily every after’.

The ‘prince’ turns out to be a guy who shares the common dream of attending Princeton with Sam. They exchange text messages and e mails regularly but are unaware of each other’s identity. So to put a stop to the suspense, they decide to meet at the school’s homecoming dance which coincidently turns out to be a Halloween themed costume ball.

Meanwhile the identity of Sam’s e mail correspondent is revealed to the audience. He is Austin Ames, the most handsome and popular guy at school, the captain of the football team and boyfriend of the posh and snobbish Shelby Cummings.

When Sam is made to work at the diner at the night of the costume ball, it is her diner manager who turns fairy godmother and helps to put together a costume for the meet-up. Replace the glass slipper with a cell phone and the rest of the story falls in place. The new features added to the tale are the set of mean girls at school, Sam’s sidekick - Carter and her friends at the diner. They are the ones who keep the audience engrossed in the story.

Hilary Duff carries her role well though Chad Michael Murray fails as the sensitive, poetry reading Austin. The rest of the cast includes Jennifer Coolidge, Dan Byrd, Regina King and Julie Gonzalo.

The movie is a watchable teen romance with a modern twist. You may not feel the minutes ticking by but at the end, it does not leave you much to think over. However if you love romantic comedies, put A Cinderella Story on you list.

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