Cinderella

6/10 

Found on Amazon Prime, This is the general tale of Cinderella (played by singer Camilla Cabello) except the lead is more interested in starting her own business than finding her one true love.

I'll be honest from the start, I'm not the audience for this. I've never been a big fan of Cinderella, any adaptation. I've always found this fairy tale kinda slow and uninteresting to me, probably because the lack of any action to it. So, bear this in mind as you read on.

Considering that this is written and directed by Pitch Perfect's Kay Cannon and featuring some big names, this doesn't feel like a big film. The whole thing feels like a made-for-TV movie you'd find on Hallmark. The story is so-so. Not bad, just doesn't leave a lot of a lasting impression. It doesn't help that you can tell where the story is going way ahead of when it happens. The modern flairs given to this feel predictable as well as Cinderella's journey. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to poo-poo the message of her story of female self-empowerment, I'm just saying it is done in a very unoriginal manner.)

The film is weirdly bipolar. It tries to both have characters act in a modern way, but it also tries to incorporate medieval social standards, and the two don't mesh. Cinderella is very a free spirit and willing to speak or stand up to anyone, except she's suddenly in the more traditionally downtrodden role when it comes to her stepmother (Idina Menzel) and stepsisters.

Jokes are hit-and-miss. The ones that do work are pretty good, though.

The sets and locations feel like a bit of a letdown.  Feel a little medieval/fairy tale bare minimum. I know this is more of a comedy, so the budget may not be that high, so it may be unfair of me to judge. Outfits are good.

This is a jukebox musical. (I believe two are original pieces.) I liked the song selections. The choreography is decent and vocals are great (not surprising since Cabello and Menzel are in this.)

No complaints about the casting. Everyone's giving their all (and Pierce Brosnan as the king is really rocking the beard.)

Again, not for me. Feel it's an unoriginal rehash of a worn-out story, plus I think it's odd they'd revisit the tale not too many years after the Disney live action one came out. But, I don't dislike this the way many critics are. I can't say it does anything downright wrong; it's just light viewing. My sister loves this, so there's got to be an audience for it. If you like the Cinderella story, romantic comedies, or jukebox musicals, this may be for you. Just don't walk into this with high expectations.