Hilary Duff as Sam
Jennifer Coolidge as Fiona
Chad Michael Murray as Austin
Dan Byrd as Carter
Regina King as Rhonda
Julie Gonzalo as Shelby
Lin Shaye as Mrs. Wells
Madeline Zima as Brianna
Andrea Avery as Gabriella
Mary Pat Gleason as Eleanor
Paul Rodriguez as Bobby
Whip Hubley as Sam’s Dad
Kevin Kilner as Austin’s Dad
Erica Hubbard as Madison
Simon Helberg as Terry
Critique:
Hilary Duff has a loyal and solid following of girls between the ages of 9 and 17, as does Chad Michael Murray, her co-star in A Cinderella Story. So it comes as no surprise that the movie is a formulaic teen girl fantasy.
Hilary Duff plays Sam, a good student and tireless worker for her “evil” stepmother Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge). She has dreams of going off to college, specifically Princeton. When she was little, her father, now deceased, told her that was the place where Princes go. In preparation for going there, she hangs out in a Princeton email chat room and develops an online relationship – culminating in a meeting at the Halloween dress ball.
The film does have a few original lines in it, but they are few and far between. Most of the movie’s characters are flimsy and stereotypical, making it hard to tell how good the acting is, but the leads perform well. The music is adequate pop fare, with a song sung by Hilary and her sister.
The movie is pretty good overall. The problem is that the same movie, with minor changes, has been filmed 10 times in the last year.
There is nothing here to really separate it from any other movies aimed at the tween girl crowd.
Who should see this movie? Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray fans probably already have tickets, so no need to tell them to see it, and they will not be disappointed in their idols. If you are looking for a sweet high school girl love story that follows the Cinderella plotline, then this movie is for you. There is very little action and watching the film does not tax the brain. The humor is there, and other than one fart joke, not very rude. If you are in the target market for the movie you should like it, but if you are a parent of someone in the target market you might want to watch something else when you drop your kids off.
