Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

A Disappointing Continuation

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This movie is dumb and cringy with some terrible performance. Sure, its mildly entertaining, but overall its boring and dumb. It could've been worse, I guess.

Hillary Duff will always be my first and favorite of the modern Cinderellas. I've watched all four Cinderella Stories, and they're all great and continue to be entertaining, but I will always come back to Sam as my first 21st century Cinderella. It's such a lovable and sweet tale, and Hillary Duff brings her Lizzie McGuire storytelling into the movie. Overall just a great movie to watch with family. Funny, light, heartwarming, and romantic.

A Cinderella Story is a charming reiteration of the timeless animated Disney film, featuring a charming performance by Hillary Duff, who always looks charming with her smiley charisma and beautiful blonde hair, boasting a charming story about a charming girl who is cursed with hell and highwater between her not-so charming stepmother and stepdaughters, with her only vice being the charming boy she keeps texting and instant messaging in hopes to lead a life like the charming fantasies her charming father used to read her. In short, the whole entire movie is pretty charming.Hillary Duff's character is Sam, who works at her father's diner, which is now owned by her stepmother from hell (Jennifer Coolidge). Regardless of the kind of endless grief the woman causes her, Sam must obey each and every order given to her by her stepmother for any hope of getting the money to go to Princeton University (her father told her that's the college princesses go to in order to find their prince). Sam slogs away at the diner, while finding the time to text and IM a guy by the username of "Nomad," who goes to the same school she does. Sam doesn't know, however, that this person just so happens to be the all-star football jock Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), a kid whose exterior shows a tough, attractive, popular kid but whose interior lies a closeted poet, silenced by his domineering father, who has Austin's life preprogrammed for him.Austin wants to get together with Sam at the Halloween homecoming dance, where he requests that Sam meet him in the center of the dance floor at the stroke of 11:00pm. When the two meet, Sam is boasting a Phantom-mask, with a gorgeous ballgown, while Austin just so happened to dress like Prince Charming personified. The two exchange more deep, intimate talks, like the ones they held over the phone and computer, all the while Sam can't believe she is talking to Austin, who may not like her when he sees who she really is - just an ordinary girl. This complicates the relationship between the two as, after the dance, Austin can't track down his Cinderella and Sam is neurotic and inert about the whole entire event.I'm aware how frothy A Cinderella Story sounds, and here's where you expect me to say that, if one looks deeper into the material, they'll find a pleasant, winning film. That's simply not true; what you see is what you get with A Cinderella Story, but what you see is certainly acceptable. As incredulous as it is and as silly as the whole thing can be, one must not forget it's a live-action, reimagining of the classic fairytale Cinderella, which is, essentially, as incredulous and as silly as it sounds too. The modern reimagining features pleasant updates, such as the differences in communication, a more suburban setting, providing for more close-to-home features, and a more recognizable cast of characters in addition.Then there's Duff, who has the ability to light up the dreariest screenplay and detract from its shortcomings if she sucks up and lets out one of her many illuminating smiles. The film was directed by Mark Rosman, who has worked with Duff on numerous projects and really knows how to position her and make her versatile in her emotions, to boot, with Duff showing about the same level of acceptable emotional range as she did in Raise Your Voice. In addition, there's Murray, who, aside from being labeled as someone "who made standards way to high for young girls," according to my friend Katie, can convey multiple different personalities nicely, as if he is really playing dual roles in his life as well. Then there's Coolidge, who goes from playing the most desirable mom in America to the most loathsome in an unexpectedly devious and enjoyable performance as one of the most dastardly mothers in recent memory.A Cinderella Story won't break any particularly new ground, nor will it captivate those disillusioned by the lackluster market of teen films. However, I applaud the fact that it takes a more human approach to fairy tales, in the sense that they're modernizing them and incorporating stories with actual human beings and not decorating them with expensive sets, detailed makeup, and forgetting everything in the way of character and development. Unlike Duff's previous efforts, like Raise Your Voice, that were so, so close at developing a functional story about teenage life but falling short, A Cinderella Story rebounds with more under its sleeve than the average film of the genre, making for a warmhearted family affair.Starring: Hillary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, and Regina King. Directed by: Mark Rosman.

Sam Montgomery loses her father during an earthquake when she is eight years old, leaving her with the domineering stepmother Fiona, and her meddling step sisters. Sam becomes a slave to Fiona's needs, which includes working at a diner, and making sure Fiona gets whatever she wants. Sam doesn't have much of a social life because of Fiona. The only people who care about her is her best friend Carter, and a girl she works with, Rhonda. She's also interacting with a mysterious pal online named Nomad through texts and emails. They both deal with family issues, both want to get into Princeton, though Sam is a bit reluctant to show her true self to him because Sam doesn't realize Nomad is Austin Ames. Austin doesn't realize the girl of his dreams is Sam. Despite being ordered to work that night by Fiona, Sam heads to the dance, thanks to Rhoda lending her a beautiful white dress. Sam finds out that Nomad is actually Austin Ames. Sam leaves abruptly because she doesn't want Fiona to find out she is at the dance. Austin is left wondering who his "Cinderella" is. He becomes adamant about finding who she is. They both had a night they'll never forget, but will their respective family issues keep them apart?I love Hilary Duff. She's gorgeous, genuine, and a great role model. She's also two years younger than me. My crush on her aside, I thought this was a fun movie for what it was. It's innocuous for kids and teens alike, and even adults will get a few smiles out of it. I thought the way they set the story up was very clever. It takes an old fashioned fantasy like Cinderella, and sets the story in a contemporary setting. It throws in some fantasy aspects, while keeping it real with everyday life. They didn't complicate it, and it worked out well. Maybe i'm just a sucker for some cute romance, but I found this movie to be quite romantic. It's a typical story with your usual clichés of good overcoming all evil. The heroine is considered an outsider by the popular people, the school hunk dumps the vixen he's dating for the less fortunate heroine. It's not entirely original, but it's worked many times before, and the formula works again in this movie. It helps that it is a bit more innovative than most with how they pull it off. Hilary Duff is as cute as a button as Sam. She is incredibly charming, very likable, and conveys the proper emotions when necessary. It's not much of a stretch for her, but I thought she was terrific. Anyone that doesn't rally behind her character has no soul. Chad Michael Murray is above average as the love interest. I wouldn't say he blew me away, but he is charming enough to make the role work. He had great chemistry with Duff as well. Jennifer Coolidge steals many scenes as the evil stepmother. She had some terrific lines. I couldn't help but love her. Dan Byrd is a hoot as Duff's best friend, Carter. His nerdy persona was fun to watch. Regina King is great as well as Rhonda. I did think the ending was a tad too convenient. It seemed a little too neat and conventional for me, but it was the right way to end things. You need a happy ending for movies like these. As predictable and clichéd as the ending is, I dare you not to smile. Final Thoughts: It's nothing earth shattering, but it'll pass the time very nicely. If you want some smiles, chuckles, and a movie that will make you feel good after it's over, this is a decent pick. 6/10