User Reviews

Cinderella has been retold far too many times to even count, what made this version stand out is the way it was delivered, how the events are arranged and the inclusion of an aftermath after prince charming found his one true love.

The movie was directed with great attention to character development. The story kept the balance between realism and fantasy. We all know Mary in the story is just studying due to school privileges and doesn't have the money to go to dance school so what does she do? She sneaks in and through the mirror emulates the dances of the more privileged kids, we always see in movies the line: "Try your best" but in this story, Cinderella finds a way to make her dreams come true, she is strong-willed and kind at the same time. When her sisters show her video as a kid dancing, she fought back with getting the tango tape and letting prince charming know she is the one. A very different approach to the meek and kind Cinderella we all know.

With regards to Joey, the prince of the movie, very well played by Andrew Seeley. Makes you wonder why he didn't land the role in High School Musical, his dance moves are not the best out there but very far from average. His acting is subtle but at the same time very convincing. His expression when he touched the mirror during the dance rehearsal was spot on and very indicative that he felt that the person of his dreams are on the other side of it. The chemistry of their characters is undeniable.

The evil stepmother has a lot of dialogue that pokes at pop icons, wash out artists and teenyboppers, if you can keep an open mind, it is hilarious. Jane Lynch really got into character, you want to hate her but you can't help but love her in the movie.

The choreography is great especially the mirror scene which I reckon will be happily remembered and Andrew Seeley's final stage performance was very professional, it looked like a real concert of a pop icon. Whoever thought of those deserves a pat in the back.

Overall, do not look for depth in this movie. It is meant to entertain us, not make us think nor try to be smarter than it really is. It is a fresh take on an old classic and does so beautifully.

I must warn you this review is heavy with spoilers, but not really that much about the ending or anything that'll ruin your watching it.

Let's begin with the good points so that I'm not eaten alive by close-minded teenybopper fans. The choreography is pretty good (especially the tango), and Selena Gomez is a surprisingly impressive dancer. Some moments are cute enough, and a few jokes I laughed at. This is a nice enough movie to watch and enjoy with girl friends, where you can try and figure out with character represents which element from the actual Cinderella story.

However, there's a lot more that I think the movie could've improved on. Not only was it the most predictable thing on earth (a talented young underdog rises to the top, blah blah) and I could figure out the rest of the plot from the first ten minutes, but it was also pretty much exactly the same as "A Cinderella Story" with different actors/characters. Some rich conceited stepmother and her two dimwitted daughters with some white-knight, goodhearted heroine who has to cook and clean while she sighs and waits for her celebrity-status Prince Charming to rescue her. You might say that its being predictable is expected, but this isn't Disney. With some of its jokes and slightly suggestive dance moves, Disney wouldn't lay a finger on such things for the screen. The movie should've at least tried to be a little more original.

I'm a little sad that they didn't elaborate on Mary's past with her mother. All we hear is a quick passing comment from her stepmother about how she used to be her backup dancer. But I guess that wasn't the point of the movie, so I won't complain too much.

Finally, Miss Gomez needs some work on her acting. I really appreciate her taking two months of dance class for this film, and it shows and entertains, but all she can do is stick to her preppy, girly "version" of acting she acquired from Wizards of Waverly Place. In fact (spoiler), there is a part where she supposedly runs home crying. Her stepmother says something along the lines of, "You look like you've been crying, or are your eyes naturally puffy?" She is met by a blank, non-expressive stare, without any tear stains on her face or at least some ACTUALLY PUFFY EYES. I guess that the age target of this movie wouldn't mind that much, though. But it could've been so much better while still entertaining its audience.

With so many takes on Cinderella, it's amazing that the film industry thinks that they can do yet ANOTHER one. And this one is SO close to A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff, it's mind boggling! Everything from the old-but-thinks-she's-young step-mother to the bumbling, stupid step- sisters, this movie wreaks of a poorly made re-make that was painful to watch, and had me fast forwarding over large sections of the movie to get to the predictable end. Someday, I would REALLY like to see a movie where the girl DOESN'T get the guy, and she realizes that he is just not that cool. There must be a reason why the film industry puts these movies straight to video, and I ask myself why I bothered watching the film. I guess I was just curious/hoping that they did something new with the classic fairytale. Sadly, they didn't and I was left disappointed.