Not Cinderella's Type

I enjoyed the fresh, realistic take on the Cinderella trope. The Àctriss who plays Indy carries the movie. The girl next door you wish was next door. She handles scenes of confusing and intense feelings well.

Not Shakespeare, but I didn't expect it to be. It actually far exceeded my expectations.

This was surprisingly good for a hallmark movie. Do not be fooled by the poster and the summary, this isn't your typical indentured servant girl with a teenage romance. Sure some of the dialogue is corny but what do you expect? It's a Hallmark movie.

What I really appreciate though, is the fact that they took time to develop the element of friendship between Indy and Bryant. He wasn't just her prince, he was also her fairy godmother. Most Cinderella adaptations I've watched just focused on her hardships and her romance at the big nice ball, but this movie delivered a more fleshed out prince in the form of Bryant. In particular, I really liked how they highlighted the difference between him and Max, and I enjoyed looking out for Indy's reactions to both of them. Cinderella's character was true to the original. You find out how kind and patient she is through her actions in the movie. Obviously, the acting could have been better but it didn't bother me that much.

The surprising thing was they actually touched on the abuse in Cinderella and treated it very seriously in this modern retelling e.g. the signs, the different types, the process of handling it, so if you're not comfortable with that sort of thing and want more of a fairytale romance, then I suggest you watch another adaptation. But personally, I thought it was handled sensibly.

Overall, I think it's nice that they've managed to make a heartwarming movie about family and friendship, and some romance to finish things off. The beginning is quite corny but if you stick around, it gets better.

I wouldn't recommend this movie for children, because its heavy and unrealistic without teaching much anything valuable. The main character projects very few of the values the original Cinderella projected and is... quite bland, and so are most of the other characters. The only character I have half a good word for is Indy's sidekick, and even that went bad with the sideplot happening there.

Unfortunately the acting makes it unwatchable for anyone somewhat older. The exaggerations would have been better done in a comic way, because now its just thoroughly cringy and awful. The typical TV Movie soundtrack playing in the background is painfully obvious.

I don't understand what the target audience of this movie is supposed to be, nor do I understand the point of its existence. The movie could've been so much more, but it managed to get every single possible thing wrong. I'm sorry for the actors for having to act such an awful script. The acting seems overdone and unfortunately the pacing is also way off and the conversations seem unnatural. It would work well in a theater IMHO but overdoing it to this degree is unnecessary when the camera is half a meter from your face.

Watched during a romcom binge, but this managed to still stick out as horrible. Sorry. The second star was gained for the lack of use of GIF birds, the third for effort and having a proper camera man and some +/- decent scenes.

Worth SKIPPING channels for 10 more minutes instead of 1.5 hours of your life. I think you get used to it at around 50 minutes in, or maybe the muscles around your eye just tire of cringing.

I really enjoyed this movie. It wasn't as well made as some I've watched but the main character was likeable and had you really rooting for her. It seemed to me to be more of a real life situation feel. Which isn't completely true of a lot of movies. I think it potrays a very realistic example of someone who suffers from emotional abuse and how they can not even realize that they are a victim which was interesting and thought provoking. And it showed great examples of friendship and kindness and I would recommend this movie to teenagers everywhere.

Full Disclosure: I'm a 60 something male who generally likes Westerns (with John Wayne, James Garner, Clint Eastwood, ...), the Dirty Harry movies, Police dramas, and so on . . . Normally this is not my type of movie. But I really enjoyed this modern retelling of the Cinderella story when I watched it with my wife. It's quite moving with some strong acting by the actors playing the three main teenage characters: Indy, Bryant, and Max. Obviously the evil aunt and uncle are caricatures, but that's a bit of a vehicle to help move the story along. And it's more than just the Cinderella tale, it's also very much about being a teenager and the trials kids face during those years.

If you're like me (or not like me?), I would say give it a try. You may very well be surprised by this little gem.