The latest Cinderella, starring Camilla Cabello, directed by Kay Cannon (who also directed Pitch Perfect), is far from the traditional take of fitting her foot into the glass slipper and running off into the sunset with prince charming. This version of Cinderella chose to pursue her ambitions instead of running off with the prince. Compared to most of her predecessors, this Cinderella is a distinctively fresh role model for young kids. However, critics were quick to review the movie when it previewed on Amazon, and boy they did not hold back.
Let’s just say that overall, the reviews are not good. Screen Rant, an entertainment news website, has even wrote that the movie is hollow, the performances is flat, and the dialogue is cringe-worthy. Let’s explore how they turn a supposedly magical movie into something completely lacklustre. While we will explore the movies, we will try not to give out too much in case some of you have not seen the movie.
The movie is set in a vague time period, in an old-fashioned town that is hesitant of change. Cinderella follows its character, portrayed by Camila Cabello, an inspiring fashion designer with a dream of selling her dresses in order to escape the control of her stepmother (Idina Menzel). During a trip to town, Cinderella meets a poorly disguised Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine) – an irresponsible royal who is often in conflict with his father King Rowan (Pierce Brosnan) over his monarchical duties – who offers to buy her dress before inviting her to the ball to meet people who can help her with her business ambitions. The pair are head over heels for each other, but things are complicated when Cinderella learns of Robert’s station and is later pressured by her stepmother to marry someone she doesn’t want to be with and ignore her passion.
For a story that is supposed to be magical, the movie lacks that. According to Hindustan Times, it wrote that no magic can be found in the writing, the performances, the costumes or even the stretched-out dance-y bits. The townspeople’s love for protesting against ‘social injustices’ is never really explored after that opening, ‘rhythmic’ bit.
Here are some compilations of quotes from critics.
Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter:
“As promising as that premise sounds, Cinderella buckles under the weight of its intentions, and not even its formidable cast — Menzel, Billy Porter, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan — can save it. It lacks magic and elegance, the magnetic qualities that made the 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein reboot, for example, irresistible.”
Clarisse Loughrey, Independent:
“Cinderella is sorely lacking in feminist credentials. Its protagonist recognises the limitations of her fairytale world – it’s verboten for women to own businesses – yet only works to better her own life. If she can land some foreign clientele at the ball and secure her own financial future, who needs solidarity or sisterhood?”
Jackson McHenry, Vulture:
“The whole project is hermetically sealed, predictable from the moment Cabello tries to play Ella as Beauty and the Beast’s Belle as if she is attempting a TikTok challenge. A musical, theoretically, could reveal something under the surface, whatever thoughts her character isn’t able to articulate in dialogue. But there’s nothing under the surface here, just a girl trying to sell you a dress.”
Ella Kemp, Empire:
“Billy Porter is unsurprisingly entertaining, but his ‘Fab G’ — this film’s spin on the Fairy Godmother — relies on shallow empowerment slogans (“Yassss future queen,” he says, snapping his fingers as Cinderella smirks and twirls) instead of genuine magic. No number of momentous Idina Menzel showstoppers (including ‘Material Girl’, for some reason) can save a tone-deaf script.”
Well, there you have it, everyone has voiced out their thoughts on the movie. We do hope that this won’t discourage you from giving the movie a go. Either way, good or bad, at the end of the day we just want some entertainment.
