A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

11% Tomatometer 102 Reviews 53% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings

Sam (Hilary Duff), a teenager in California, is obliged to work as a janitor and dishwasher in the diner of her stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge). After a cell phone mix-up, Sam begins an anonymous text-messaging and e-mail relationship with a boy. They agree to meet at a school dance, but when Sam finds out that her secret pen pal is none other than Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), the cutest boy in school, she panics and looks for a way to make herself cooler.

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A Cinderella Story

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Critics Consensus

An uninspired, generic updating of the classic fairy tale.

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Critics Reviews

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A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Nell Minow Common Sense Media Funny and sweet update of the Cinderella story. Rated: 4/5 Dec 21, 2010 Full Review A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Anna Smith Empire Magazine This is simple, lazy storytelling rendered merely functional by appealing leads and the eternal lure of romantic fantasy. Rated: 2/5 Aug 19, 2004 Full Review A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Wendy Ide Times (UK) Every high school clich in the book is dredged up for this piece of fluff Aug 19, 2004 Full Review A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Rachel Wagner Rachel's Reviews (YouTube) Jennifer Coolidge is so funny as the evil stepmother, she has so many good lines. Rated: 7/10 May 14, 2019 Full Review A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com The movie will wash over adolescent female audiences who don't know any better like melted Brie on 110-degree asphalt, but for the rest of us it's a grueling waste of time. Rated: D- Jul 11, 2010 Full Review A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Duff has yet another brainless movie to add to her repertoire. Apr 29, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jace E I am unashamed to say that I love this movie. It's a time capsule into the early 2000's in the best way. The Hilary Duff music is fantastic, Jennifer Coolidge is brilliant and there is an inexplicable charm to the whole movie. The biggest flaw is that you are expected to believe that Chad Michael Murray is that blind/dumb, while also being Mr. Poet. There are tender moments ("I'll Be"), laugh out loud moments ("If it isn't little Betty Crocker from the Hood") and picture perfect teen romance moments (The Final Football Scene). It's a movie geared toward kids, yet it is the definition of a guilty pleasure.Best Character: FionaBest Quote: "Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game." - Sam's DadBest Scene: "I'll Be" Best Song: "I'll Be" (Honorable mention to "Anywhere but Here", "Sympathy" and "Hear You Me") Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/24 Full Review Faiz D A good entertaining movie. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Hailey H My favorite childhood movie growing up watching Hilary Duff highly recommend best movie 💝💝 Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/03/24 Full Review Alice K An absolute cult classic! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/13/24 Full Review Ciaran S A Cinderella Story is just a typical corporate sellout trying to cash-in on the fairy tale of Cinderella everything of this film is generic from beginning to end with a lackluster story with the same cliques, weak writing and uninteresting characters. The reason why this movie still exists is that is trying to cashin on the success tha Disney had when they released their version of Cinderella back in 1950, but no matter how hard you try to retell the story you will fail miserably. Yes dreams can come true, but you need to make them come true yourself, and this movie is the perfect example of retelling the story of a fairy tale with a bourne out message just to shove it in people faces for all the wrong reasons. Rated 1.5/5 Stars • Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 05/14/24 Full Review Catherine R First off, I love Hilary Duff and I'm big Chaf Michael Murray fan so this duo was perfect for me. I loved her dress in the film, I found it entertaining that Fiona had her own tanning bed in their backyard, Rhonda was a kick ass fairy godmother so the casting director or whoever gave her the role, you're awesome. Regina King killed it. I also found it entertaining thar the stepsister were soooo determined to make Sam's life so miserable that they became desperate enough to try and make Chad Michael Murray believe that they were Cinderella. They didn't act themselves ar all but then again, what girl does when they have a crush. Even though they did not, infant, have a crush. They just wanted to make sure Sam never got her prince. And I love the modern touch to the story; how Sam drops a phone, not the glass slipper. And how she seems to work at the diner, whole maintaining an A, I'll never know. But overall, I love this film. Everyone did a great job portraying the characters. And I respect the actress who I played Shelby too. Character we just loooove to hate. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/10/24 Full Review Read all reviews

A Cinderella Story

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Cast & Crew

Mark Rosman Director Hilary Duff Sam Jennifer Coolidge Fiona Chad Michael Murray Austin Ames Dan Byrd Carter Regina King Rhonda
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A Cinderella Story

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Synopsis Sam (Hilary Duff), a teenager in California, is obliged to work as a janitor and dishwasher in the diner of her stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge). After a cell phone mix-up, Sam begins an anonymous text-messaging and e-mail relationship with a boy. They agree to meet at a school dance, but when Sam finds out that her secret pen pal is none other than Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), the cutest boy in school, she panics and looks for a way to make herself cooler.

Director
Mark Rosman

Producer
Hunt Lowry, Dylan Sellers, Clifford Werber, Ilyssa Goodman

Screenwriter
Leigh Dunlap

Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures

Production Co
Warner Brothers, Clifford Werber Productions, Gaylord Films

Rating
PG (Mild Language|Innuendo)

Genre
Romance, Comedy

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 16, 2004, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2011

Box Office (Gross USA)
$51.4M

Runtime
1h 35m

Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS

Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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A Cinderella Story | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

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