Another Cinderella Story
We first saw Another Cinderella Story is not a sequel to A Cinderella Story that we saw in 2004. It is exactly what it says it is, another Cinderella story. It is a present day version of Disney’s Cinderella taking place in none other than Los Angeles. This funny teen drama puts a new pop kick to a classic tale.
Mary Santiago’s (Selena Gomez) mother was a back up singer and dancer for Dominique Blatt (Jane Lynch) and when she died, Dominique took her in but not as a daughter, as a maid. Dominique became the evil stepmother with two just as evil daughters, Bree and Brit. Joey Parker (Andrew Seeley) is a pop sensation taking a year off from the singing and dancing and going back to high school for his senior year. In every fairytale is a ball, and despite her stepmother’s efforts to keep her behind by giving her so many chores there is no way she could finish in time. The best friend Tami, shows up in her vintage orange van along with a cleaning crew to the rescue. The girls head off to the masquerade ball. JP notices Mary the second she enters and walks so slowly down the stairs into the room. Conveniently Tami finds a guy, JP’s manager Dustin (Marcus Paulk), that she can distract herself with, leaving Mary and JP alone. She gives the DJ her Zune and they share a dance, except it’s cut short. The clock chimes 11:45 and she runs off leaving her Zune behind. The only way for JP to find his fantasy girl is if she can list the top 4 most listened to songs, but of course the stepsisters find a way to figure it out and pretend to be the one. Mary applies to a Manhattan School of Dance and somehow her audition gets cancelled. Leave it to the evil stepfamily to create misunderstandings and lots of teen drama.
Another Cinderella Story took a new turn from the last movie and added dancing and pop music. Andrew Seeley who was mostly known for his work in High School Musical. Most people do no realize that he actually did some of the singing for Zac Efron. His voice was blended with Efron’s to create the sound they were looking for. As a songwriter and singer, Seeley was the perfect choice for this role. He dances throughout the movie with Gomez as his side who is a very talented dancer as well. The scene with the dance class shows this. The way they danced with each other, off each other, so passionately yet were separated by glass, mirrored on one side and see through on the other. Seeley has a great voice and is very talented as is Gomez and I hope to see more from them in the future.
Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott wrote a edgy new take to this Classic story. The script is modern, funny, and has its fair share of teen romance. It covers all the aspects wanted and needed for a teen drama, friends, enemies, boys, girls, crushes, and happy endings. They made Mary a very skilled and unnoticed dancer and gave her a little more of an attitude than Cinderella usually has. She gets walked on by her step-family but she doesn’t let it get her down. They made the romance between the two stars more realistic than fairytale like. They hung out and cleaned together rather than the Prince just sweeping her off her feet. It was how it would happen in real life.
The new modern take on this tale is great for kids, teen, and parents. I am always impressed by those who can sing, dance, and act and Seeley and Gomez were naturals. The supporting role of Paulk who is just as talented amazes me. There was the right amount of drama, powerful songs, and great dance moves to keep me entertained throughout the movie. Even though this was a story of Cinderella and we all know how it ends, I still found myself watching as if I did not know the ending which is the whole point of a movie. A great film should seem new every time you see it, and should be just as great each and every time you watch it. I think it was overshadowed by the previous movie and many people may have thought it was just a sequel with different characters that they didn‘t want to see but it was a different move in itself that anyone who enjoys dance, especially teens, would love. I give it 3.5 stars.
Mary Santiago’s (Selena Gomez) mother was a back up singer and dancer for Dominique Blatt (Jane Lynch) and when she died, Dominique took her in but not as a daughter, as a maid. Dominique became the evil stepmother with two just as evil daughters, Bree and Brit. Joey Parker (Andrew Seeley) is a pop sensation taking a year off from the singing and dancing and going back to high school for his senior year. In every fairytale is a ball, and despite her stepmother’s efforts to keep her behind by giving her so many chores there is no way she could finish in time. The best friend Tami, shows up in her vintage orange van along with a cleaning crew to the rescue. The girls head off to the masquerade ball. JP notices Mary the second she enters and walks so slowly down the stairs into the room. Conveniently Tami finds a guy, JP’s manager Dustin (Marcus Paulk), that she can distract herself with, leaving Mary and JP alone. She gives the DJ her Zune and they share a dance, except it’s cut short. The clock chimes 11:45 and she runs off leaving her Zune behind. The only way for JP to find his fantasy girl is if she can list the top 4 most listened to songs, but of course the stepsisters find a way to figure it out and pretend to be the one. Mary applies to a Manhattan School of Dance and somehow her audition gets cancelled. Leave it to the evil stepfamily to create misunderstandings and lots of teen drama.
Another Cinderella Story took a new turn from the last movie and added dancing and pop music. Andrew Seeley who was mostly known for his work in High School Musical. Most people do no realize that he actually did some of the singing for Zac Efron. His voice was blended with Efron’s to create the sound they were looking for. As a songwriter and singer, Seeley was the perfect choice for this role. He dances throughout the movie with Gomez as his side who is a very talented dancer as well. The scene with the dance class shows this. The way they danced with each other, off each other, so passionately yet were separated by glass, mirrored on one side and see through on the other. Seeley has a great voice and is very talented as is Gomez and I hope to see more from them in the future.
Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott wrote a edgy new take to this Classic story. The script is modern, funny, and has its fair share of teen romance. It covers all the aspects wanted and needed for a teen drama, friends, enemies, boys, girls, crushes, and happy endings. They made Mary a very skilled and unnoticed dancer and gave her a little more of an attitude than Cinderella usually has. She gets walked on by her step-family but she doesn’t let it get her down. They made the romance between the two stars more realistic than fairytale like. They hung out and cleaned together rather than the Prince just sweeping her off her feet. It was how it would happen in real life.
The new modern take on this tale is great for kids, teen, and parents. I am always impressed by those who can sing, dance, and act and Seeley and Gomez were naturals. The supporting role of Paulk who is just as talented amazes me. There was the right amount of drama, powerful songs, and great dance moves to keep me entertained throughout the movie. Even though this was a story of Cinderella and we all know how it ends, I still found myself watching as if I did not know the ending which is the whole point of a movie. A great film should seem new every time you see it, and should be just as great each and every time you watch it. I think it was overshadowed by the previous movie and many people may have thought it was just a sequel with different characters that they didn‘t want to see but it was a different move in itself that anyone who enjoys dance, especially teens, would love. I give it 3.5 stars.
Written by Jaclyn Sroda
http://www.moviefilmreview.com/author/jasroda
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Another Cinderella Story
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