Cinderella (2021) Review by Brooke Daugherty
September 24, 2021 10:42 am |
Congratulations! I watched this musical so you don’t have to. I know I’m not the first person to make that joke, but don’t get me wrong, I didn’t absolutely hate this movie. I am disappointed as to what this film could have been. If you LOVE everything James Corden has ever done or don’t mind a roller coaster ride of song and script inconsistency, go ahead and give it a try.
With credits like New Girl, 30 Rock, and Pitch Perfect, Kay Cannon sounds like the perfect person to make an updated version of Cinderella. Unfortunately, she may have taken on too much, or more likely, taken too much input from Producer/Supporting Actor Corden. Some of the jokes seemed to be last minute additions which DID NOT land for me, of which I am chalking up to Corden.
This version is based on the French adaptation of the folktale written by Charles Perrault called Cinderella Or the Little Glass Slipper which appears to be the most popular version of the tale to use. Camila Cabello plays the titular character as well as you’d suspect. While her performance isn’t Oscar material, she does a good job with the material she was given. Cabello is mostly there as someone to draw in the Gen Z demographic while being able to hold her own against powerhouse singer Idina Menzel who plays her stepmother, Vivian. Other cast includes Nicholas Galitzine as our “Prince Charming” Robert, Minnie Driver and Pierce Brosnan as our Queen and King, with Billy Porter as Fabulous Godmother. James Corden appears as a mouse footman doubly fulfilling my Corden quota for the year. (I’m having Jude Law 2004 flashbacks)
One of the great things about fairy tales and musicals is costumes. Not here. Ella wants to be a fashion designer, yet the best dress is the one her Godmother gives her. In fact, Porter’s costume is the flashiest of costumes, presumably something written into his contract. Robert buys one of Ella’s dresses, which his sister Gwen (Tallulah Greive) wears to the ball. It is a yawn. Speaking of “yawn”, most of the original music is awful unless it is Menzel performing. Even most of the popular songs that make this a jukebox musical fall flat. The choreography is great, the musical choices are not.
The storyline goes out of its way to say ‘It’s a man’s world” to just show how determined and headstrong Ella is. Gwen wants to rule and the thought of a Queen ruling is preposterous to Brosnan’s king. England had a very famous Queen (Elizabeth I) 100 years before Perrault committed his Cinderella to paper, although France never had a Queen ruling, it wouldn’t be THAT unusual. Personally, I would have preferred Ella and Gwen fall in love. The film had many colors of faces, but Billy Porter was the only queer coded part of the whole thing.
Instead, go to Disney+ and watch the live action Cinderella (amazing costumes), animated classic, or Ever After, which is the superior update. I will not be taking questions at this time.
PCL Rating: Low Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: ROTTEN
Tags: cinderella 2021, cinderella movie 2021, film review, movie review, pop culture leftovers
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
This post was written by Leftover Brian
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