Midnight Masquerade

In this reversal of the traditional Cinderella story, Rob Carelli (Christopher Russell) is a Pittsburgh attorney who gets all the work and none of the credit in his firm, run by a father and his two arrogant, bully sons. Rob falls for the head of a client firm, Elyse Samford (Autumn Reeser), but is too reserved to do anything about it.

Russell has that Christopher Reeves-as-Clark-Kent vibe going: ruggedly handsome, but socially awkward, and hiding his true feelings. When he wears a mask, you have to accept that no one could possibly identify him.

This Hallmark romance is one of the better ones. The chemistry between the two leads is strong, and both are very likable. Over and over again, Rob proves himself to be a caring, principled man. The meaty role of his niece Ruby is played by Helen Colliander. And Neil Crone plays the part of Sam, the over-qualified and somewhat cynical office security man Rob befriends.

'Midnight Masquerade' (2014)

Opening thoughts: The best-known name here, and my main reason for seeing 'Midnight Masquerade', is Autumn Reeser. Much of her output is well worth watching and her performances are consistent in a good way, she is a Hallmark regular for good reason. The other main reason for seeing the film was that it was a take on the 'Cinderella' story, that is one of my all time favourite stories and there are some good to great adaptations and revamps of it. Christopher Russell however is rather take and leave and the 2014 Hallmark output was wildly variable.

'Midnight Masquerade' is one of the better films of theirs from that year. It is a great representation of Reeser, who went on to even better things, and for a relatively early Hallmark film and performance for Russell this was a good deal better than most. While not one of the best or most inspired modern takes on such a timeless story that will never get old regardless of how many times it's narrated or adapted, 'Midnight Masquerade' is a more than worthwhile and very charming take.

Bad things: It isn't perfect. Personally actually did think that the final act is too rushed with the conflict forced and the prematurely easily foreseeable ending too neat. It is true that the film is very predictable, with many typical elements not done much new with.

Perhaps Russell's character could have been stronger in standing up to the conflict and sooner.

Good things: However, there is a lot that is done really well. Reeser is incredibly charming and brings a lot of heart and steel. Russell doesn't come over as stiff or too introverted and is equally easy going and charming. Their chemistry is very natural, sweet and genuine. The supporting characters are ones that are very easy to overplay, and luckily they didn't come over as too caricaturish or hammy. The interaction always felt at ease and not forced. The father and daughter relationship is particularly interesting.

Furthermore, 'Midnight Masquerade' looks good, especially the scenery. The scenery really does entrance and the photography doesn't cheapen it at all. The music at least fits tonally and in placement and has presence without being over-loud. The dialogue is sharp enough and flows naturally, while also having the right amount of sentiment (not too much in quality and quantity). The story is predictable, but also light hearted and charming with a good deal of heart. The Halloween party sees some beautiful design and atmosphere.

Closing thoughts: Concluding, nice film if not a classic.

7/10.

I love this one. I gave it a "10" years ago and have seen it multiple times since. Autumn Reiser is lovely and charming and because of this movie I have always given her the benefit of the doubt in subsequent roles. Christopher Russell is adorable and sexy in the "cinderfella" role. His appeal usually rests with his chemistry with his costars and it couldn't have been better in this, one of his first Hallmark roles. He usually is a bit passive in his starring roles, but it really works in this one.

As the Cinderella story line requires, Rob is bullied and taken advantage of throughout most of the movie. This is quite painful to watch and almost took a little shine off of the romance. When he finally grew a backbone and stood up for himself and did the right thing, it was a huge relief. As his Niece/Fairy godmother says, he is just too nice.

The parallels with the Cinderella story with the role reversal were cleverly done. Autumn Reeser can't stand her high-heels, so she carries them around with her. As the prince figure she is the daughter of a corporate magnate who is training her to take over the business. She is strong and smart and down to earth. The wicked stepmother and step sisters are the head partner and his two sons of her corporate attorneys. Oooooh, they are horrible and evil! Rob is a lawyer that slaves for them while they take all the credit for his hard work. Again, that part was maddening.

Anyway, the writing, the plot, and the cast all come together in this Hallmark in which everything works. Not a weak link in it!

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a sweet story with a bit of a twist on the old Cinderella story. The characters were well-cast and the story flowed nicely. Even though I had a good idea how it would end, it was still enjoyable and held my attention throughout. The only reason I didn't give it 10 stars was that I had such a hard time getting past Rob's hair. It looked like a bad wig. Was it just a bad wig, or poor styling? I realize this movie is 9 years old, but still. I don't know anyone who had such strange looking hair, even back then. All in all, I spent an hour and a half with a movie that has done Hallmark proud.

Of course, it's just as predictable as you'd expect, but it was a fun journey to get there. The characters were great all around and well cast.