Once upon a time, not so long ago, a timeless tale was modernized. Cinderella became ‘diner girl’, the price charming became a football team captain, the wicked stepsisters became valley girls, the royal ball turned into a Halloween Homecoming Dance and the glass slipper switched into a cell phone.

“A Cinderella Story”, the teenage romantic comedy is a contemporary version of an old story Cinderella. It depicts a realistic teen life and creates a dreamlike picture of a world for many romantic teens. Directed by Mark Rosman and written by the amateur writer Leigh Dunlop, “A Cinderella Story” did fine in the box office for its first week of showing but the word-of -mouth of its disillusioned viewers and covered by more attractive film options lead to its drop-off by the second week.

In the movie, the teenage sensation Hilary Duff (“Lizzie Mcguire”) play Sam Montgomery, an orphan who is banished to the attic of the San Fernando Valley home of her shallow, hilariously self-absorbed step-mom Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge), forced to work at the family diner, treated more as a servant rather than a member of the family and doesn’t get synchronized swimming lessons like her talent-less and wickedly dumb step sisters (Andrea Avery and Madeline Zima) – all in the hope that Fiona will send her to Princeton for her efforts.

The Cinderella Sam work hard at home, at school and at their roller diner with the hope in getting into Princeton and spends time text messaging and talking to her secret admirer and prince charming on-line a.k.a. Nomad who turn out to be the King of high school, the captain of the football team, student body president and the campus heartthrob (of course!). Sam and her prince already engage in anonymous e-mail romance and have agreed to meet at the Halloween Homecoming Dance. She turned out in mask, they shared intimate moments and when she leaves at midnight to get back to the diner, she has left behind her cell phone with a lock feature in it (a characteristics a shoe doesn’t have. Haha!).

,The theme of the film itself had been used by many other movies. But the wonderful point of the movie is that it is able to depict a Cinderella life on this contemporary time. Taking note that even though Sam stayed at the attic of their house, the movie turn the attic into a comfortable room just like the other teenager’s room living a normal life. And even if she works in the diner, she had a car, a cell phone, and even had a computer in her room. Well that could say much on how the movie re-invented Cinderella these days.

Also, the first- time writer Leigh Dunlop quietly did a nifty job in making the valley girls and the step-mom a little bit funny though the whole movie wasn’t ingenious enough. The film also changed the character of the prince charming Austin Ames, who was supposed to be a man of character yet turned out to be afraid of his dad, in a dead-end relationship with a shallow cheerleader (Julie Gonzalo), easily cowed by his buddies and unable to pursue his Cinderella. Those were just some of the notable changes in the movie.

However, evaluating the whole movie itself, one could not get away in associating it with other films of the same theme. Like the character of Cinderella in “Ever After” played by the charming actress Drew Barrymore, was a more adventurous, assertive and active one compared to Sam in “A Cinderella Story”. Sam was also portrayed as a teen outcast in their school yet her fair physical appearance with Duff’s figure flattering tops, expertly ironed hair and the confidence she projected in the film completely did not suit her underdog character. On the other hand, the assertive, adventurous, courageous and compelling attitude of Danielle (Drew Barrymore in “Ever After”) somehow suited to the actively charming beauty of Drew. The gutsy, intelligent, appealing Danielle of “Ever After” somehow captivated the heart and senses of the audiences more than the puppy attitude of Sam. “Ever After” was intelligently humorous, suspenseful and romantic compared to the latest “A Cinderella Story” which somehow lost its magic and guts with some of its over-acting and forced humor through the least inspired characters of geeky, wicked step sisters and the constrained and non-particularly funny Botox obsessed step-mom.

Girls would surely be cheering more for Danielle (“Ever After”) in giving her stepsisters the black eye and for carrying the handsome prince Henry (Dougray Scott) on her back than the lowly Sam who showed her courage at the later part of the movie.

“A Cinderella Story” was neither a piece of crap nor one terrible film, just a disappointingly pleasant one. I tried not to read any reviews of the film before I watched it in order not to create a preesupposed impression of it. However, its give-away title and movie billboards somehow created a standard of expectation within my mind. The hot lad Murray on one way or another sustained me on my seat. But the inappropriate blend of Duff and Murray made me so uncomfortable and created an insipid taste on my drink. But like most of the film critics were saying, “A Cinderella Story” was not really noteworthy and not really bad but has enough cheesiness and stupidity in it.

"A Cinderella Story” somehow offered me a nice smile on my lips and a little smirk. But in the end it made me realize that I may be a teenage on-line, but Sam would definitely not the kind of Cinderella I wanted to be! Armela O. Gertos Movie Review