Ah, the classic Cinderella story never gets old. Yet another remake of the old fairytale has been made,
this time starring Wizards of Waverly Place’s Selena Gomez and High School Musical’s Drew Seeley.
Although the plot has been done thousands of times, this movie is still extremely entertaining. It may
be a bit cheesy, but honestly, it’s a remake of Cinderella. I mean, come on, of course it’s cheesy.
Everyone knows the classic fairytale. Selena’s character, Mary, is the Cinderella. She’s shy, not
popular, and loves to dance. Her world turns upside down when teen heartthrob sensation singer, Joey
Parker (Seeley), transfers to the school and dances with Mary at a masquerade ball. He can’t stop
thinking about her. Of course, there’s the wicked stepmother (Jane Lynch) who will do everything to
make sure that Mary does not get into the top dance school. Her two wicked daughters (Emily Perkins,
Katharine Isabelle) are destined to stop Mary from falling for Joey, even if that means embarrassing
her. Mary’s friend, Tami (Jessica Parker Kennedy), takes the role of fairy godmother and is always
sticking up for Mary.
The story mostly followed the Cinderella format, but had its own differences. For example, the glass
slipper has turned into an iPod-like device and instead of having the slipper fit, girls would guess
the top four most played songs. Very clever. Due to these minor tweaks, the plot was not boring at all.
The acting choices were vital to this performance and the decisions paid off, especially casting Selena
and Drew. The duo's chemistry was there but sometimes became a bit awkward, like when Selena’s chest
was pushed up against Drew’s chest. It was very obvious that Selena was uncomfortable. But who can
blame her? He’s almost ten years older than her! There were complaints about the age difference, but
both actors are extremely talented. Both are triple threats — singing, dancing, and acting. The rest
of the cast acted very well, especially Jane Lynch, Jessica Parker Kennedy, and Marcus Paulk, who plays
Dustin, Joey’s friend.
Dancing and singing was good as well. Selena’s dancing was amazing, even though she claims she was
just learning and everyone else was a professional. Drew — who voiced Troy in the first High School
Musical — was good as well. I’m usually not a person who likes to watch people dance, but Selena and
Drew had scenes where their dancing was so unbelievable that I had to watch it. I bought both of Selena
’s songs, “Bang This Drum” and “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know.” I plan to buy more.
Overall, a very satisfying performance of Cinderella. Selena and Drew really shine through in this
movie and take the stage. The movie is currently available on Amazon; it never went to theaters. And
they all lived dancing ever after.