Les 12 coups de minuit

Newly graduated Kate Kassell (Portia Doubleday) is trying to be a fashion designer but her father Lee (Chris Noth)'s cheap knockoff reputation stymies her. She joins her fathers company which was started with her deceased mother. Her stepmother Elise (Lauren Holly) schemes to kick her out of the company. Elise with her simpleton daughters are undermining the company. After they successfully get Kate fired, her friends suggest returning as a male designer.

This is sorta Cinderella with a dash of Twelfth Night. I like Portia Doubleday and really the only reason to watch this. Her weird-looking male character is off-putting at first but he does grow on me. The father is infuriating as if he is suffering dementia. It might be helpful to see the roots of the dysfunctional father daughter relationship. The evil stepmother is fine. The fashion business is nothing insightful or real. At the end of the day, none of that is the big problem. It is simply too cheap and too cheesy to be effective. It is not more than a TV movie that cannot elevate. Doubleday does an admirable job but it is not enough.

Portia Doubleday heads a phenomenal cast who have fun with Shakespeare's themes of disguises and miscommunication. I started watching this show thinking it was just a Cinderella remake, but was taken on a surprise road trip through a comedic spectacular.

After the Ball is purely light entertainment with lots of make believe and succeeds in keeping it that way throughout the story.

A very simple tale of a girl fresh out of designer school and discovering the job market is a tough place for her profession. Her father gives her a chance in his clothing manufacturing business and Kate/Nate ends up saving the business from sinister doings!!

Yes its a silly story with a little bit of Cinderella and The Devil Wears Prada thrown in but the director Sean Garrity keeps it simple and fun and doesn't get too invested into the 'feelings' of the characters. Portia Doubleday is better at being the character Nate than she is at being Kate. And the two 'sisters' are perfect at being the buffoons of the story.

If you get a chance check this one out!

After the Ball is an entertaining little comedy that takes a few elements of Cinderella and uses them to tell the story of a young fashion designer who manages to get a job at her father's design company, only to be ousted by her stepmother and stepsisters. With the encouragement of her aunt and her actor friend, she disguises herself as a young male designer and manages to get hired back at the company where she battles the evil forces out to get her/him, but with newly found self-confidence.

I was expecting nothing from this movie, but my daughter wanted to watch it and it had a rating higher than one star on Netflix, so I figured why not. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. While it's predictable in the extreme, it's genuinely funny and moves along at a good pace, with a solid screenplay and likable characters. I had never heard of Portia Doubleday before watching this movie, but her performance is terrific. She's funny, sympathetic and simply a pleasure to watch.

Don't expect a profound or earth-shattering experience, but if you are in the mood for some lighthearted fun, you could do much worse than After the Ball.

I enjoyed this movie immensely! It took the "Cinderella-like" tale to a whole new Modern Day version that I very much enjoyed. The characters were relatable and hilarious, and I couldn't help laughing so hard during it. Portia, the actress playing the lead female, did a FANTASTIC job playing her parts! It wasn't too dorky that it was terrible and overdone; it had just enough silly humor that it was entertaining for me. The romantic parts were charming and "awwww!"-inducing that I couldn't help but melt inside. So adorable!

It's a GREAT movie to watch and laugh out loud with the entire family!! You won't regret it! :D