Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, Chad Michael Murray

High school senior, Sam Montgomery, lives at the beck and call of her self-obsessed step-mother, Fiona, and her sinfully wicked step-sisters, who treat her more like a servant than a member of the fam...( read more  read more... )ily. With her sights set on attending Princeton, Sam finds her less-than-sparkling social life wonderfully complicated when she meets her prince charming online. However, when her anonymous cyber soul mate turns out to be her high school's über-popular quarterback Austin Ames, Sam makes a mad dash back to reality, leaving her cell phone behind just before the clock strikes midnight. Fearing rejection if her secret is revealed, Sam dodges Austin's relentless efforts to discover the identity of his princess. Will Sam let fear hold her back, or will she find the courage to be herself and claim the life she's always wanted? Her chance at "happily ever after" depends on it.

Flixster Users

59% liked it

30,194,827 ratings

Critics

10% liked it

96 critics

PG, 1 hr. 36 min.

Directed by: Mark Rosman

Release Date: July 16, 2004

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: October 19, 2004

Get It:

Stats: 1,007,209 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (1,007,209)


  • July 23, 2008
    can't get enough!
  • April 22, 2008
    "Waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought, useless and disappointing."

    A chick flick with Hilary Duff? Did anyone expect this to end up being a good movie? A Cinderella Story is merely the classic tale of Cinderella that has been updated for the m...( read more)odern audience. Great, they do it with Shakespeare and now they're updating fairy-tales for the modern agenda? I really don't see the need.

    A Cinderella Story is about a young girl named Sam Montgomery (Duff) who was orphaned as a child and is left to the mercy of her routinely oafish step-mother Fiona (Coolidge). Sam also lives with her hideous step sisters, and is basically treated like a slave by everyone in the house.

    But Sam meets the man of her dreams in a chat room. For months they have exchanged pleasant messages from each other via internet chat rooms of mobile phone text messages. (Does anyone else think that if they had each other's mobile phone number they could just ring and chat voice-to-voice, and hence be done with the mystery?) The two then decide they should meet at the school Halloween dance. As it turns out, Sam's dream guy is the most popular bloke in school; Austin Ames (Murray).

    From there on in it's a trip into familiar territory; no matter what happens we know how it is going to end. It's obvious how the film will end just by watching the first 10 minutes. But I found myself exhibiting an incredibly bleak, shallow tale that keeps going on and on with no ending in sight. But what is most frustrating is when Sam has ample opportunity to tell Austin face-to-face that she is his internet girl but always blows her chance. And at the Halloween ball...one simple little mask wouldn't be enough to cover her identity.

    The whole movie is cheesy and predictable. And unlike most comedies like this, it ain't a fun ride to take. Hilary Duff is in dire need of acting lessons. With her character hoping to get into a certain university for the movie, I had a faint glimmer of hope that it would be some kind of acting school.

    Chad Michael Murray isn't any better. He's robotic, wooden and always has the same expression on his face. And every time he tries to do something different he overdoes it. Jennifer Coolidge was the only one who actually supplied a few laughs because of how evil she is. Regina Hall and Dan Byrd were the stand-outs here though. Regina was really funny at times, and Dan actually tried to act. Qualities we never see in any of the main cast.

    A Cinderella Story is very dull, corny and painfully predictable beyond all belief. It's nothing more than a retelling of the classic fairy-tale in a contemporary setting. Doing this with Shakespeare is a good idea to help the modern audience understand it more clearly, but this fairy-tale was already understandable. And hence the whole film is a complete and utter waste of time.
  • January 9, 2008
    Surprisingly for this chick flick, it's actually quite cute. The acting isn't particularly Oscar-worthy, but adequately done for that typical teenage modern-day love story. Hate to call it a "guilty pleasure", but I kinda feel dirty for reviewing it...
  • January 4, 2008
    Two words: kill me. Both Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray are shit actors.

    Let's see: predictable plot, cutesy characters, stereotypes ... hey, it sounds just like ... a shitty movie!

    I won't really say more. Too damn lazy.
  • November 17, 2007
    Okay, not too bad for pre-teens. Sends a good message.
  • November 24, 2009
    i have watched this movie 7x already
  • November 24, 2009
    i wAnt to see this moviE....its Look like interesting...
  • November 24, 2009
    didnt really lik this too much!
  • November 24, 2009
    I absolutley adored this movie!
    I couldnt get ober it
  • November 24, 2009
    Good follows the cindrella story lol

Critic Reviews


July 16, 2004
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

Duff is cute and chirpy; Murray is cute and bland, and the stepsisters squabble a lot. Ho-hum. full review

July 16, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A terrible movie, sappy and dead in the water. full review

July 16, 2004
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

Mean Girls it's not; a plastic butter knife has more edge. But sometimes it's nice to know your kids won't cut their fingers. full review

July 15, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Instant sugar shock. full review

View more A Cinderella Story reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


  • sammikaratekid
    April 30, 2009
    1.put your middle finger on your nose
    2.say a name of someone you like
    3.that person will ask you out or say that they love you tommorow
    4.heres the thing copy and paste to 2 other vids
    dnt read this(coz it really works).you will get kissed on the nearest friday by the love of your life.tomorrow will be the best day of your life however if you dont post this to at least three other videos you will die within in 2 days.....i really hate these stuff
  • anjuprathap143
    April 29, 2009
    its a great movie.......i would love 2 watch it again n again..........
  • Luvistasera
    April 21, 2009
    HILARY IS SMART IN HER ACT AND SO DOES CHAD IT IS SO THRILLING WATCHIING THIS MOVIE..
  • toyinbakare50
    January 22, 2009
    interesting
  • pafitou007
    December 15, 2008
    ..omg i love it..!

    ..i was ready to cry on many scenes..!

    ..you will love it if you see it..!
  • ndogoyaro
    August 20, 2008
    ilov dis movie........................
  • babyprincessnatalie
    March 23, 2008
    HILARY IS VERY CUTE & CHAD HAS A BEAUTIFUL ACT IN THE STORY
  • Claudia2309
    March 14, 2008
    I luv this movie. And Chad Michael Murray i so hot.
  • iLoveYouAlots
    March 13, 2008
    omg i love this movie!
    it roxx!
  • nbhatti3000
    March 12, 2008
    very good movie i cried on may scens, must watch it it is little old but very good movie.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Official Trailer

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Meet The Fockers
    Meet The Fockers (76%)
  • Sydney White
    Sydney White (77%)
  • The Princess Diaries
    The Princess Diaries (78%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

A Cinderella Stor... : Watch Free on TV


A Cinderella Story Trivia


  • "Once apon a time... can happen anytime" is the tagline to which movie?  Answer »
  • What did Sam (Hilary Duff) drop at the Homecoming Halloween Dance on her way out in "A Cinderella Story"?  Answer »
  • Name the movie Hilary Duff was in as Cinderella   Answer »
  • What movie has tagline "A life without love, is no life at all. "  Answer »

Most Popular Skin