How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2004 film A Cinderella Story.

Story
The story is in the title and it’s very much an early 2000’s take on Cinderella. There’s an almost made-for-TV feel to it.
Score: 0
Characters
The characters are dated clichés from a bad take on a John Hughes movie. Although the actors manage to perform the roles with charm, they can’t overcome the script. The good characters are flawless (except that she’s too nice and he’s too popular. Oh, and both of them don’t want to confront their parents.) and the villains are reprehensible.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
There’s some funny lines and some adorable flirting but the absolute industrial quantity of body and food shaming is disgusting.
Seriously? How did the early 2000’s think this was okay? How the hell did we go from Jennifer Coolidge being a sex symbol in 1999 to her being considered disgusting in this movie? The woman’s acting is perfect in both, but we don’t need the body and beauty shaming to show she’s ugly on the inside (as the character!).
Score: 0
Visuals and Music
The camera work was okay but everything felt very made-for-TV quality.
The music was a lot of fun and nostalgic.
Score: 1
Fun
I enjoyed the movie to a certain extent. I love the Cinderella archetype and it makes for fun movies, but this one doesn’t hold up well.
The kids enjoyed it, but not to the point of wanting to rewatch it later.
Score: 0.5
Overall
A dated take on Cinderella that is held together by the charm of the actors, but even their skill isn’t enough to save it.
Final Score: 2 Stars out of 5