Cinderella
A modern spin on the age old tale of Cinderella takes to the big and small screen this weekend featuring Camila Cabello as Cinderella, Idina Menzel as the Stepmother, Billy Porter as the Fabulous Godmother, and Nicholas Galitzine a Prince Robert. This go round the story takes a musical bent with mashups, remakes, and originals of varying degrees of artistic mastery, sure to speak to Gen. X parents walking a pretty safe line of crowd pleasers and familiarity.
The film also serves as an interesting COVID production having completed about one third of the principal photography before stopping down at the outset of the pandemic, restarting to complete with clever socially distant blocking and staging; which, if not mentioned would probably go un-noticed, to that end, kudos to Writer/Director Kay Cannon. With regards to the film’s artistic direction, choreography, and overall appeal, it’s fine, splashes of humor, and, slight plot twisting keep the story just modern enough; however, while the production certainly has a polish on it, the overall feel still rests outside the bounds of what might be considered “Disney” quality, this is a solid attempt none the less. Perhaps a weekend watch on Amazon for the younger family members in your life. Cinderella is rated PG.