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List Price: $12.98 | | Label: Warner Home Video
Salesrank: 7834
Released: October 19, 2004 |
| Our Price: $2.15 |
| Used Price: $0.90 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Meet high school student Sam (Hilary Duff), who scrubs floors at a diner, copes with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters, and all the while dreams of Princeton (the perfect spot for a would-be princess to find a prince). But maybe she has a Prince Charming already: her anonymous e-mail buddy (Chad Michael Murray), who arranges to meet her at the Halloween dance. Sam panics when Mr. Anonymous turns out to be the coolest guy on campus. Can he love a girl who isn't part of the in crowd? Can fairy tales come true? Sure - but only if Sam stands up for herself and turns her dreams into reality.
DVD Features:
Additional Scenes
Audio Commentary:Hilary Duff and other castmembers
Challenges:Find Your Prince/Princess Challenge: See video clips and answer questions to see who your true love is.
Featurette:Cinderella Couture: The Making of a Fashionably Modern Fairytale: A featurette on the costumes and makeup that at first "made under" and later made over Hillary Duff.
Music Video:"Our Lips are Sealed" by sisters Hilary and Hallie Duff
Other:PRE-SELL DATE TBD
Description of A Cinderella Story (Full Screen Edition):
If you are one of Hilary Duff's most ardent pre-teen fans, chances are you'll find something to enjoy in A Cinderella Story, but everyone else should proceed with caution. It's an updated fairy tale for the age of instant messaging, which is how Sam (Duff) develops a crush on Austin (Chad Michael Murray) before realizing that this Tennyson-quoting poet-at-heart is actually her San Fernando Valley high school's star quarterback and most desirable hunk. In a role that squanders her proven comedic gifts, Jennifer Coolidge is Sam's Botox-injected evil stepmother, and lame attempts at comedy turn her dimwitted stepsisters into buffoons, like many of the other cast members who struggle to find anything funny in the screenplay. So we're left with the bland, blonde charms of Hilary Duff, who fared better in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, but manages to salvage her mainstream appeal in a comedy for which "cute" is not necessarily a compliment. --Jeff Shannon
A Cinderella Story (Full Screen Edition) Reviews:
A Cinderella Story 
2009-11-01 - Ok, I've seen better movies. Especially from Hilary Duff. This movie was not your typical "Cinderella" type. More like it's the daily life between a step-parent and the kid. It happens everyday, why make a movie? Hilary has done way better movies! Better luck next time Hilary=]
great teenage love story 
2009-10-15 - I bought the movie because I lost my first too & I simply couldnt live without it. The movie is a modern cinderella love story where the overlooked girl gets the popular guy & they fit together perfectly. This movie is great for all ages it doesnt have any bad seens,words, or anything parents neeed to watch out for for their child. I recomeend thid movie to any yound or older girl who loves a good movie with a a great story.
Light and Cute 
2009-10-13 - I am wayyyy past the age bracket of the target audience of this movie. Nevertheless, I actually had a good time watching this movie. It is wholesome, sweet and quite funny. Hillary Duff, however lame or teen-boppy you may think she is, she does have a certain screen presence to her and is quite watchable. As for the role of a modern day Cinderella, she was a perfect fit - A good girl who learns to stand up for herself and wins the prince in the end. Some excellent additions to the cast were Regina King and Jennifer Coolidge. These actresses made the film become a real movie. Regina King is the modern day fairy godmother but definitely with an edge and Jennifer Coolidge - isn't the name enough? She was downright hilarious and just fabulous, as always. I was thinking that if I were a teenager, I would have dove right into this movie. I was thinking about it from a mother's point of view, too. This movie is definitely risk-free in many ways. The only precaution I'd have is Cindrella's correspondence with a perfect stranger that she met in a chat room. :)
Even if you're not a teen or a tween, I think if you're fan of a light romance movie or don't mind reminiscing the cute old days of just dreaming of prince charming, I'm sure you'll enjoy this modern day Cinderella story.
Anything is Possible, if you just Believe...
2009-07-07 - This movie celebrates virginity, and that is what makes it so
special. Also, Hilary Duff is in this one. And also that girl who
was in that picture with you know who. That said,...
When two fall in love, they wed. And when they lie down together,
they marry, as in, the two become one flesh. A wedding ceremony
usually occurs between a wedding and a marriage. A wedding
ceremony is foreplay. Some are more creative than others. For
some, a wedding ceremony consists of music, and privacy.
But for others, it is a public spectacle, complete with a cathedral
backdrop, a white gown, a black tux, a ring, and an official who
makes a speech, and says, "I now pronounce you..." And then there
is the paperwork.
In this movie, they wed, without seeing each other. They text each
other, and find each other through each other's words, but will
Nomad (he's not mad, he's just "serious") and Princeton Girl
still want each other when he sees her? And so, she wants to
keep her distance, while taking a few steps towards greater
intimacy, greater wedding. Will they get to a ceremony? A Halloween
Ball: She shows up as Cinderella Girl, to meet Nomad, who shows
up as himself, Austin Aimes (I guess if you had a name like Aimes,
you would want to reassure others that you were not mad, and avoid
carrying a sword, or avoid wearing shades, like the characters, Carter
and Terry do at the Ball. He tells his friends that he lost his Musketeer
costume to explain why he showed up as Prince Charming. Is he
wearing a mask?)
She wears a veil, a kind of mask. Her dress, and mask, is "True Blue".
She knows him, but he can't see beyond her mask: It is a Clark and
Lois thing. Will she take off her glasses? ("A girl hit that!"...Maybe she
was being serious about her swing?) The angels show up to play a
tune, or perhaps they are time travelling minstrels practising their craft
on unsuspecting couples, but whoever they are, they are out of place
with the crowd inside, but complete the ceremony, their private ceremony.
He was supposed to show up as a Musketeer, but is now out of place
amongst the other two, as Prince Charming. He is one of three, but the
other two in his party, don't complete him. Neither can he relate to Zoro
or Mr. Anderson, who are in black. But there are three angels, two
siamese cats, and a salt and pepper shaker. What could all this mean?
In any case, the temperature starts to climb, when she is saved by a bell
tone...Her car, Carter, awaits, to take her "home", which in this case is a
diner. Cinderella Girl, Princeton Girl, and Diner Girl, which of these three
seems out of place? Which one is Samantha Montgomery (or Sam)?
Nomad, that's what he calls himself, to stay anonymous, but she
knows him, Austin Aimes, for Diner Girl (that's her) has served
him before, at her evil stepmom's diner, where she is forced to
endure as her servant stepdaughter. 'The Salmon Diet' is the
title of her stepmom's book, but it is Sam (Diner Girl, Cinderella
Girl) who diets, or fasts. But that's OK, because her mind is
elsewhere, food is down there on the priority list. She dreams of
going to Princeton, for that's where the Princes are, or so her dad
(now deceased) used to tell her. Wherefore, she needs to busk
tables in order to save for tuition: Samantha Montgomery, "the
Salmon", must diet.
There are three friendship circles: The circular table at the diner,
the circle bench at the school, and the network of support,
"circle of friends", the students rely on. Sam, uses an email
network, or text messaging system, for two. Words can tell
you a lot about another: For example, how good is her English, and
how lazy does she think she can get with her grammar while still
keeping your attention...Likewise, what you choose to wear, tells
another what you think about yourself, I think. Rhonda chose her
costume for her, while Sam allowed herself to be a canvas upon
which others could paint their impressions of her: Nun, Pig, Joan
of Arc, Hula Girl, etc...Does a mother not know her child? Rhonda
painted her, "Like a Virgin"...I have seen this movie more times than
Star Wars, and I like science fiction.
They kiss, and a raindrop appears:
Oops...Put out the sparks, Cinder_ella, before you start a fire and
get expelled from the nunnery. Again, Wedding, Wedding Ceremony,
A Kiss, Marriage. Or, Wedding, Wedding Ceremony, A kiss, changed
my mind, annulment: Breaking up, is really not that difficult, when you
put your mind to it. It is merely a question of logic, over emotion.
Carter says, "Anything is possible, if you just believe". Well, sort of.
God is Love. All things are possible with Him, but that does not mean
all things will be. Nevertheless, Faith works by Love. I hope she kept
the mask. A virgin is an unmarried woman. She might be wed ("in love")
though.
This movie makes more sense than those "promise to remain chaste
until after I walk down the wedding aisle" documents some make children
sign at Bible camps. Why would you coerce somebody into making a
vow before God that he might not be able to keep? It is like "they" want
to bind those children into a curse, so that the children might be damned:
See, Judges 11: 30-35; Acts 23:12-13, KJV.
Modernized Cinderella
2009-05-03 - At the beginning of A Cinderella Story Samantha's dad is killed when an earthquake strikes their home in the San Fernando Valley. Since Sam's dad didn't have a will everything her dad owned was left to Fiona, her stepmother, who treated her more like a slave than a stepdaughter. Sam has dreams of going to Princeton but Fiona thinks Sam has no need to go to college. Sam starts talking to a guy in chat room who wants to go to Princeton as well. One night online the guy asks Sam to meet him at the Halloween Dance they are having at their school. When Sam meets him at the dance and realizes that her secret admirer is Austin Ames, the most popular guy at the school, she thinks it is a joke and not real. However, she ends having a wonderful time. Sam never tells Austin who she really is, then at the pep rally Austin finally figures out that "Cinderella" is Sam Montgomery. Sam finally tells off Fiona and finds out that her dad had a hidden will and that everything he owned was hers. The night of the homecoming football game she goes to the school and tells Austin how she feels. When Austin notices Sam getting up to leave he runs off the field, up to Sam, and finally kisses her. In the end, Austin and Sam end up going to Princeton together.
A Cinderella Story fits in well with the romance genre mainly because of the love story that exists between Austin and Sam two of the main characters. They both seem very devoted to one another and after texting for a while they want to meet each other and Austin does what he has to so he can meet her. Most of the middle and end scenes relate to the love story and ends with Austin and Sam "living happily ever after." This is shown through many scenes in the movie a couple examples are when Austin and Sam were texting one morning before school starts and when Austin asks Sam if she thinks she made the right choice meeting him at the dance.
After meeting at the dance Austin and Sam go outside to the gazebo and start dancing. After they are done dancing Austin asks Sam, " Do you Princeton girl feel like you made the right choice in meeting me tonight?" and Sam says she "I do." Sam then asks Austin, " Do you Austin Ames ever wanna see me again after tonight?" Austin answers by saying " absolutely." Through this conversation the viewer can tell that Austin and Sam plan on seeing each other again and possibly start a relationship.
At the homecoming game Austin sees Sam leaving and he runs off the field and meets her, as she is about to walk down the bleachers. When he gets to her Sam says, " Austin what are you doing?" Austin replies, "Something I should've done a long time ago." Then Austin kisses her. This is the actual beginning of Austin and Sam's relationship and where all the other scenes were leading.
I like how Rosman, used slower songs when showing Austin and Sam particularly when they were at the dance. I also like how when Austin and Sam were dancing the lights were dimmed to give the scene a more romantic feel. I like how the actors acted like they were actually living a day in their own lives and not actually acting. I think the actors that were picked for the movie were paired very well with the character they play in the movie. It is interesting how at the dance Austin is wearing a Prince Charming costume and Sam is wearing a wedding dress to be Cinderella, they were the perfect costumes for two soon to be lovers to wear even though they never discussed what they would be wearing.
Overall, I really like this movie because it is a romance movie and I like romance movies in general. I think the music that is played throughout the movie fits really well with what is going on in the movie at the time. An example of this is when Edwin McCain's song I'll be is played when Austin and Sam are dancing in the gazebo at the Halloween Dance. This song fits because it is a romantic song and played during a more romantic part of the movie. I like how it takes a Disney movie and makes it seem more realistic with using real people instead of animated characters. Using real people makes it relate more to today's teens. I like how it does not seem like the actors are actually acting; it seems like how they would act in real life.
I recommend this movie to teenage girls who like romance movies and fairytales. I think the movie is a modified version of the animated Cinderella to make the movie more appealing to older audiences who liked Cinderella but makes it more realistic to reflect possible true stories that happen in a teenager's life such as falling in love.
