Not Cinderella's Type

Imagine what a Cinderella story would be like if it was set in modern suburbia with high school students. Okay, now you are imagining this incorrectly. So imagine it was a realistically based story that addressing the issues and mechanisms associated dealing with abusive foster parent environments. Now you are getting the picture.

This story of Cindy Ella (get it), who lives with her aunt and uncle and their daughters, while going to school, and there is a handsome guy involved.

This is not exactly a well written story, and while the acting is okay, it is all a bit superficial. But it addresses some important issues intelligently enough. So yeah, it is a good one for teens to watch.

We enjoyed it in spite of the terribly broad acting, particularly of the aunt and uncle. The reality is much grittier, but the emotional abuse suffered by the title character is not as rare as you might think. 'Want to be the hero yourself? ...then consider serving as a CASA. Just Google it.

So nice to have a teen romantic film where people just communicate properly, sensitively and get on with it! None of this sneaking around, no big misunderstanding or not telling the truth for some other nonsensical reason, they talked. I loved it for that. It is a bit twee and the Cinderella theme is dominant but there is a modern element that I have never any other Cinderella-esque movie.

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.