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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Cinderella Story - Hilary Duff (2004)

Heart Rate: YYY

After watching Hilary Duff in War, Inc. (reviewed earlier) and her next big gig as Bonnie Parker in The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, I was curious about her previous acting career . So I watched The Cinderella Story.

Light fare with a "GrlPower" message, the script is riddled with lines like "We have faith in you. You gotta have faith in yourself."
Definitely movie with Duff's target audience in mind, it follows the Cinderella Story but has given it a decidedly pro-female twist.

Austin Ames' (Chad Michael Murray) character is pretty shallow; but having a 17-year old nephew, I don't think Chad Michael Murray missed the mark and did a passable job.

Jennifer Coolidge, as the evil stepmother Fiona, always delivers a robust, over-the-top performance that have all we come to expect and love.

Hilary Duff, too, gave a solid performance, hitting her cues and delivering believable emotions. I am curious to see if she can move past her Shirley Temple phase and make the huge leap from teen star to adult actor. Its a scary jump and the chasm is littered with others who have failed.

The film is sweet, not too thought-provoking and has a nice message film for your teen-age girls. There's no harm in this movie and its mildly entertaining.

I just kind of wished that the boy had more backbone. But then, girls mature faster, don't they?



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