A Cinderella Story Review

Minor Plot Details
Sam was a young girl who lived alone with her father. They spent all their time together and were best friends. Her dad owned a diner where she spent a lot of her time. Her life was perfect... until her dad bumped into Fiona....and married her adding a new step-mother and two step-daughters (Brianna and Gabriella) to the picture.

Then there was an earthquake and as you can guess her father ended up dying in it. Without a will, Fiona ended up getting everything and Sam sadly moved up to the attic....

Fast forward and we meet Sam as a teen. She's still in the attic and has basically become Fiona's maid. Begin the Cinderella Story - minus the magic. Sam isn't only picked on at home, but also at school and in life in general. Then there is Austin, a popular kid who Sam initially thinks is a jerk, but he might just be a prince??? You'll have to watch and see what happens!

Characters
Hilary Duff .... Sam is a great "Teenage" Cinderella. She's got the look that makes it easy to play the hated girl but still be a like-able person overall. You really never know why girls decide to pick on other girls, and Hilary plays a part here similar to Lizzie Macquire where she is just a little clumsy, and a little different, making her an easy target for these snobs.

Jennifer Coolidge .... Fiona is kind of like her character on Joey, but even more heartless. She's easy to hate but also very funny! They make her out to be the biggest snob ever

Sam: Fiona we're supposed to be conserving water. We're in the middle of a drought.
Fiona: Droughts are for poor people. Do you think J-Lo has a brown lawn?

Chad Michael Murray .... Austin Ames is the secret admirer. Ok, I'm not ruining anything as this is revealed very early in the movie. He's a nice guy with the label of Popular who doesn't even know who he's chatting with but is absolutely enthralled by Sam based on her messages alone. Will he turn out to be as great in person as he is online? You'll have to see!!

Regina King .... Rhonda is a waitress at the restaurant that acts as Sam's mother. She cares for her and wants her to accomplish everything her dad dreamed of without letting Fiona get her down. Her and the whole restaurant staff are all fun and nice people that pretty much represent Sam's family.

Genre
This is more than just a Cinderella story as Sam is not just doing all this for her self, but also for her friends at the diner. They hate her Stepmom just as much as Sam does. It is a romantic comedy for teens and adults. Teens will enjoy the love story and the theme of a non-popular girl finding her way. It's best described as "cute" because it doesn't make you crack up laughing, nor does it make you cry, it's just a cute story!

I know there are many versions of the Cinderella story, but this is one of my favorites because it is realistic AND placed into the present time period. There is no magic in this.  Everything could really happen which will make it even more enjoyable for young girls and teens to watch.

The Visuals
The house they lived in was well designed because it looked like a castle but was really just a house.  It gave the impression of some magical place, but it was really nothing more than a bigger than average house. I also thought the Diner was cool because it had that 50s feel so you could see it was meant to be a retro-diner. They are in there a lot for the movie so the set was pretty important. Overall the sets and costumes were nice making the movie visually entertaining.

Conclusion
I really liked this movie. Carter, Fiona, Sam and Austin were all well cast and they made the movie great. It's really a love story, but is not at all boring or overly cheesy. The stars may be teens but overall I feel anyone can enjoy this story. I can't come up with any cons, so it just has to be five stars. If you want to see Cinderella with a twist, check out A Cinderella Story today! Enjoy :)