Posted: 07/18/2004

A Cinderella Story

(2004)

by Coco Delgado

In which Coco gives us the breakdown on why all these ‘Princess’ films are flooding our theatres.

When I was in high school, I was victimized by a cheerleader in public. We’d been given an assignment in English to write a description of a high school stereotype. I was excited by this fun project, and my friends and I brainstormed aloud as to possible ideas…parking lot smoker, FFA farmer kid, chess club nerd, airhead cheerleader.

Well, she heard me. Monique Cardinet was her name, and I think they actually modeled Barbie dolls after her. She was blonde, slender, athletic, perfect…even her name was perfect. And she was not stupid…she had roughly the same intelligence as a German Shepherd. She could also be as vicious as one, and she’d hated me since 5th grade. And she heard what I’d said. So she says, “Well…maybe I’ll write mine about a dorky girl who brings her cat to school.” (Yes, I did. I lived nearby, and I had back-to-back free periods. Sometimes I’d bring (Sgt.) Pepper (a Siamese-mix) on campus to socialize him.)

So a week or so later, the essays are due, and the teacher asks for volunteers to read their papers. And of course Monique volunteered immediately. I think the teacher was a little stunned at that, but she recovered nicely and told Monique to go ahead. And sure enough, her description was a thinly-veiled attack at me. It was obvious that she’d gotten together after cheerleader practice one day with all her cronies and written it, and it was so thinly-veiled that I think even the teacher got it. I fought tears…and when Monique made a triumphant return to her seat, I asked if I could go next. The teacher nodded, and I stood up and, in a shaky voice, read my essay…about the male-chauvinistic algebra teacher/coach who didn’t think girls really needed to learn math anyway. It was really good…and Monique was just…appalled. I didn’t really look at her, but I could tell the more I read, the more guilty she felt. I sat down proudly. Score one for the dorks!

So maybe that True-Life Adventure will explain why I didn’t find A Cinderella Story completely stupid. It actually has got a good bit of what it’s like going on.

Now yes, it is another Princess MovieTM. For whatever reason, 2004 is the Year of the Princess: Chasing Liberty, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, The Prince and Me, Ella Enchanted, and the upcoming Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement are all ample proof: stretch the point a bit and Shrek 2, Mean Girls, and even The Stepford Wives can be added in as well—and these are only the ones I’ve seen! (Just in case you wondered why I didn’t include Troy and King Arthur .) It’s interesting…what does that say about modern society?

This film has gotten rather horrible reviews (a 10% at Rotten Tomatoes) but it’s not that bad. Sure, it’s predictable…it’s Cinderella for crying out loud! We knowhow it ends. But as an updated modern version…it’s cute. Hilary Duff’s Sam(antha) works in her late father’s diner while her Stepmother and Stepsisters dress horribly and spend money. All she wants to do is graduate and move from the Valley to Princeton. She meets another Princeton hopeful in a chatroom, and You’ve Got Mail correspondence ensues on computers and cell phones. Yes, there’s a happy ending. Yes, there’s a Fairy Godmother. There’s also a charmingly handsome dorky best friend, Carter, played by Dan Byrd, who is probably the best sidekick since Ducky. I’ve never seen him before, but evidently he’s got a rather enthusiastic fan base.

It’s entertaining to see the movie references thrown in. “I wanted 2 Fast 2 Furious, not Driving Miss Daisy,” Sam tells Carter in one scene. There’s a rebellious punk girl (a la both Mean Girls and Saved!). There’s a “Who are you” question-mark leafleting spree straight out of Amelie. There’s a Mr. Anderson. There’s even a Zorro!

Yes it’s predictable. Yes, it’s fluffy and light. But it’s got a grain of truth, too: when the Evil Cheerleader Shelby humiliates Sam in front of the entire school, you feel the held-back tears. Because they do things like that. They really do.

Coco Delgado lives in Cambridge-Somerville and always sits in the front row. Her 2003 New Years resolution is to see more than the 66 movies she saw last year.

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