Cinderella felt like an overly long music video with an ending that you can spot a mile away. It’s all about female empowerment which is a fine goal to pursue but this movie just feels like it’s pandering to the movement without deep development and ending with both satisfactory and disappointing experiences.
It is colorful, fast-paced, and Camila Cabello has a good pop singing voice. I like the idea of a modern version of the classic. There are some major weaknesses, though. While the dialogue was ‘modernized’ it was still very dim-witted. It would have been so easy to have a sharp, witty or campy script to go along with the new storyline that has Cinderella as an empowered woman rather than a wide-eyed dream-come-true princess. Also, everyone knows that Idina Menzel is an outstanding vocalist but she wasn’t given enough opportunity to show it and the writers really botched her character of being the evil stepmother. Her character was full of contradictions and overall just made no sense. As for the songs then, the moments where the cast sing, we gain very little that furthers the story or gives depth and rather, just get something that feels like its place to pass the time. Entertaining but not necessary.
| Related: IN THE HEIGHTS Review
Finally, this version took a couple of steps toward being both woke and ironic but seemed to fear going too far in either direction. Ultimately, it’s not a bad film. It does know what it’s trying to achieve but the problem is the execution. I know many people will like it but at the end of the day, it’s just about white privileged kids complaining about just how miserable their life is. That’s the clearest ironic message from this!
K- Score: 54%
STW: 13/30, D: 13/25, C: 5/8, E: 2/5, PVD: 6/12, A: 7/10, S: 8/10
