The movie starts off keenly aware of the hokum of fairy-tale schemes. Yet, like a slew of similarly themed movies (The Prince & Me and 13 Going on 30), it has a hard time giving its audience a brand-new vision.
Comment
07/16/04
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A Cinderella Story (2004)
10
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:96
Fresh:10
Rotten:86
Average Rating:3.6/10
Consensus: An uninspired, generic updating of the classic fairy tale.
Theatrical Release:Jul 16, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $51,392,209
Synopsis: Hilary Duff plays Sam, a good-hearted Cinderella stuck in the fairy-tale-gone-wrong atmosphere of modern-day Los Angeles. Enslaved by an evil, BOTOX-junky step-mom (a hilarious Jennifer Coolidge)... [More]
Starring: Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Dan Byrd, Jennifer Coolidge
Director: Mark Rosman
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Reviews for A Cinderella Story
A terrible movie, sappy and dead in the water.
07/16/04
Top CriticLeigh Dunlap's script abounds in one-liners of mild pedigree at best, and under the direction of Mark Rosman a timeless tale has been transformed into an enervated sitcom.
07/16/04
Mean Girls it's not; a plastic butter knife has more edge. But sometimes it's nice to know your kids won't cut their fingers.
07/16/04
Only several charismatic actors and fleeting moments of genuine romance survive this modern thrashing of the age-old fairy tale.
07/16/04
...the picture isn't the prince of a vehicle Duff's been looking for.
07/16/04
just about the same exact movie as all those other trifles aimed at the tween girl demographic that have been unleashed upon the unsuspecting moviegoing masses this year
07/16/04
This reviewer’s young daughter and her friend - both anticipating third grade - decided they enjoyed the film because the mushy stuff was kept to a minimum.
07/16/04
Once upon a time there was a lovely fairy tale, then an evil curse was cast upon it and it was turned into this movie.
07/16/04
A sloppy, idiotic mess that demonstrates nothing but contempt for anyone deluded enough to actually watch it.
07/16/04
In this awkward, updated fairy tale, the shallow, bland script drowns in so many cliches that it becomes tedious, except for the most devoted "Lizzie McGuire" fans.
07/16/04
What we have here is a failure to communicate anything the least bit interesting unless you're under 10 and this is your first cinematic rodeo
07/15/04
Alas, the attempts by writer Leigh Dunlap and director Mark Rosman to modernize this fable fall flatter than Cinderella's arches after a night of dancing on glass slippers.
07/15/04
The whole thing feels like detached adults' cartoonish idea of what high school life is like.
07/15/04
The efforts to find Cinderella and struggles with Fiona take longer than they should, but there is an old-fashioned happily ever after ending for everyone who deserves one.
07/15/04
You might imagine her father's death by earthquake is a terrible trial, but, this being a romantic teen comedy, the trauma is fleeting.
07/15/04
Feels like a pro forma TV movie from the get-go and relies almost entirely on Duff's likability to hold the audience's attention.
07/15/04
The movie strains to bend the fairy tale to accommodate another coarse high school comedy of air-headed teenage vixens ganging up on a meek little angel.
07/15/04
Top CriticThe sort of entertainment that makes you happy to be grown up and able to avoid the current onslaught of trite, lazy, unimaginative films aimed at tween-agers.
07/15/04
A step down for Duff, who owes her fans and herself something fresher than another lazy rehash of the world's most-exploited fairy tale.
07/15/04
Latest News for A Cinderella Story
August 17, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "SOAP," "Material Girls" Not Screened; "Accepted" Denied; "Sunshine" Shines
This week at the movies, we've got snakes.... on a plane ("Snakes on a Plane," starring Samuel L. Jackson), slackers on a campus ("Accepted," starring Justin... More...
June 16, 2005:
Stanford, Levine & Several Others Head for the "Hills"
The Hollywood Reporter brings us the full cast list for the upcoming remake of Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes." Filming begins rather soon, and director Alexandre... More...
May 27, 2005:
Only in the Movies: Carmen Electra is Eugene Levy's Wife
Not long ago it was announced that Eugene Levy ("American Pie") would be joining the cast of "Cheaper By the Dozen 2," and that the veteran funnyman would... More...
June 22, 2004:
How would Cinderella meet her prince in a modern-day retelling? On the Internet, duh! 
More...
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