I recently rewatched this movie with Mr Bao who gave me a different perspective on what is one of my favourite movies of all time. 😿
I can hear you protesting and I know, this is no award-winning picture. To borrow Mr Bao’s words, “It’s not bad, it’s just that it’s a children’s film”. As the title suggests, this is a retelling of the classic Cinderella story. It comes complete with the evil stepmother and stepsisters, a handsome prince, a ball, and a “fairy” godmother. But the twist is that this story takes place in the early 2000s.
Sam, or our modern-day Cinderella, meets her prince on an online chat room. Left under the care of her self-absorbed stepmother, she toils away at her family’s diner in the hopes of earning her freedom when she goes to college. While the film retains the key plot points of the original story, the core message has been updated to empower people to believe in themselves despite what anyone else thinks.
To understand my obsession with this movie, one has to remember that I first watched this as a DVD rental when I was 10 years old. Nostalgia plays a big part in my feelings about this movie. At this point in my life, I’ve seen this film many times. If I had to count, it would be at least close to 10 times that I’ve seen this movie, including the times that I watched it as a child.
While this film may be considered obscure by the general public, I see it as a 2000s-era girl movie classic. In today’s era of lazy reboots, this movie was the perfect type of remake. It stuck close to the original Cinderella storyline with all the same beats, but gave them a “modern” twist.
As someone who was still a kid in the 2000s, it was fun to see how life was like for teenagers back when the internet was still in its infancy and flip phones were commonplace. It’s the perfect movie for rewatching as you know that they will end up happily-ever-after in the end. What also cements this as a classic in my mind are some of the iconic lines and scenes from the movie. Jennifer Coolidge, who plays the stepmother, can proudly say most of those lines were hers. 💅
Favourite moments
In honour of the film’s 20th anniversary, I’m ranking my top 5 favourite moments from the movie. Let’s go!
Bonus mention – The diner walk-out ⛸️
In this scene, Sam finally finds the courage to stand up to Fiona after she was reminded of her Dad’s motto, “Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game”. There were some cutting words exchanged between Fiona and Rhonda which were quite satisfying. Seeing the community rally behind Sam was very heart warming. This scene also contains my favourite joke in the whole movie. You can watch it HERE for a laugh.
5. Zorro’s fight sequence 💃
This fight sequence takes place at the school’s Halloween dance. Carter, Sam’s best friend, is dressed as Zorro and swoops in to save his crush, popular girl Shelby, from some unwanted advances. Unfortunately, a chase ensues which involves some stunts and a victorious Zorro, who gets very engaged in a snog session with Shelby. You can watch the scene HERE.
The chase is one of the more memorable scenes in the movie. I enjoyed thinking about all the fun the actors must have had crawling over tables, jumping down from balconies, and making full use of the space.
4. The gazebo dance 👠
The gazebo dance is another scene that takes place at the Halloween dance. Sam, dressed as Cinderella, takes a walk outside with Austin, dressed as the prince. They play 10 questions for Austin to guess who Sam is behind her mask. They end off the night with a slow dance to some “live” music in a gazebo lit up with fairy lights. You can watch the scene HERE.
For the 10 year old in me, this was such a romantic and magical moment. It was incredibly unrealistic but I enjoyed the moments leading up to it and also how the scene was shot. The only thing that ruined this moment for me was how dense Austin was because he couldn’t recognise Sam. 🤦♀️Another thing I noticed was that this scene reminded me of the last scene in the Twilight movie. I always thought that the Twilight movie was calling back to this, but it’s probably just a coincidence. Catherine Hardwicke, you didn’t mention this in your Twilight director’s notebook but maybe you can clarify!
3. The dress reveal 👗
This scene happens right as Carter and Sam arrive at the Halloween dance. Carter had lent Sam his Zorro cape to hide her outfit. She finally takes off the cape and she gets her moment in the spotlight at the top of the stairs with the whole school admiring her and her dress. You can watch the scene HERE.
I don’t remember much of this scene as a kid, but watching it recently, I have really grown to love this moment. In terms of the scene itself, I loved the needle drop of the song Best Day of my Life by Jesse McCartney as it paired well with the scene. Symbolically, up until this point in the movie, Sam had always hid in the background at school and at home. This moment where she decided to remove the cape (literally and metaphorically) and stand out from the crowd was a climactic moment. I love the reaction from Austin, but I also love the reaction from Carter, who is so proud of his friend.
One downside is that I didn’t actually like the dress that much. The skirt was nice and poofy which are fairy-tale qualities. But the bodice was too tubular and really jarring to look at. I kind of wished they had chosen a different top but maybe it was the style back then.
2. Carter meets Sam after she confronts Austin in the locker room 💕
This is a very short scene that happens after Sam speaks her mind to Austin in the locker room before the big game. Carter comes looking for her just because he knew that she might need his support. The show of friendship between Sam and Carter was one of the things that even Mr Bao liked about the movie. They stuck together through the ups and downs, offering advice and encouragement in equal doses. Carter for the win!
1. The kiss in the rain 🌦️
What teenager could forget this romantic moment? Of course, as an adult, I feel like Sam forgave Austin too easily. But together with the symbolism of the rain, and pushing back against his father, and the expectations of the whole school, maybe I should cut the man some slack. The needle drop of Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World here was great too!
🍿 Movie club question
Have you seen this movie before? If you have, let me know your thoughts! Are there any favourite moments that I’ve missed out?
References read while writing: