A “Cinderella story,” as they say, is usually attributed to stories where a young woman is mistreated time and time again by the powers that be, but eventually overcomes the odds and comes out on top. Or something to that effect.It’s a premise that I used to think was difficult to screw up, given how easy it would be to craft a story around.Lots of movies have done it at least somewhat effectively: Ever After: A Cinderella Story, Ella Enchanted, and Cinderella Man to name a few.
Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale takes the original Cinderella formula, ties it up to a tree trunk and beats it to death with a stick. It makes me wish the original Cinderella fairy tale wasn’t public domain, because now anyone can write a story and associate it with Cinderella and likely it will get more attention than it deserves. The 1950 animated Disney classic is something I’d gladly show a small child.This movie is not.
Here’s the setup: Country girl Elle (Ashlee Hewitt), a teenager whose parents died in an airplane accident, has been adopted by her uncle, who is the president of the hip and trendy Spunn Records in Los Angeles, a record label who works with some of the hottest teen acts in town.Elle now works as an intern for Spunn Records, and has aspirations to become a successful pop singer.Also, Elle wears glasses, which, as most movies geared toward younger people indicate, will get you nowhere in life. (Spoiler alert: when she discovers the courage to overcome the odds and sing her heart out, she takes off her glasses first, because glasses are not worn by successful pop singers.)
From the first few scenes, Elle fails as a convincing Cinderella story, and for one simple reason: Elle is lazy. The movie tries to depict her as being unfarily mistreated by Spunn Records’smost popular pop group: Sensation. Sensation is a teen trio of little hussies that walk in unison with their hands on their hips, and ask Elle for unimaginable things like “coffee” and “water.” In response, Elle whines to her intern friend Kit (Juliette Hing), asking the universe why the girls of Sensation constantly treat her like crap. Newsflash, Elle: You’re an intern. That’s what you’re supposed to do.Sure the girls of Sensation are mean and dress like total hoochies, but who cares? This is your job.But instead you walk away from responsibilities and complain the whole time.
Elle has no grace. Cinderella had the grace of a princess, so rightfully became one; Elle has bitchy outbursts, like when a coworker at Spunn Records tells Elle how good of a morning it is, Elle tells her to “buzz off.” Ouch. Now tell why I’m supposed to like Elle, or why I would want her to become a successful pop singer.
Even on its modest budget, the movie lacks any production quality. Like when Elle finally gets the coffee for Sensation, she winds up spilling it all over Sensation’s frontwoman, Stephanie (Katherine Bailess). I know lattes have milk in them, but when Elle spills the lattes on Stephanie, the liquid is white-clear. Also, Stephanie seems impervious to scalding hot coffee because she is not burned.
I also got the feeling the actors didn’t rehearse enough with one another before the cameras rolled, because they often awkwardly stepped on each other’s lines. And Ashlee Hewitt (Elle) I’m assuming was discovered for her work on the reality TV show Nashville Star, which would explain why she doesn’t look interested in acting. Her performance lacks any sort of noticeable enthusiasm, especially when she has scenes with her “Prince Charming,” Ty Parker (Sterling Knight). Sterling Knight, along with Katherine Bailess, who plays Sensation’s lead hussy, both do provide believable performances. But with dialogue featuring lines like: “I sing, I’m not a real singer,” and “You asked me to make magic and are now taking away my hat,” and my favorite, “Good music doesn’t keep an airplane in the sky,” a believable performance couldn’t have been too taxing.
The original Cinderella story teaches young ones that hard work and perseverance will eventually get you somewhere. Yes, there is a fairy godmother in the equation, but the original Cinderella deserved that fairy godmother. In this case, Elle didn’t deserve much of anything. She was just another lazy teenager. If we strip away any Cinderella reference, this movie loses the little merit it had, and becomes a waste of time for everyone involved, mainly for the lazy guy watching it.
DVD Bonus Features
There are no extras.
"Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale" is on sale November 30, -0001 and is not rated. Directed by The Dunson Twins. Written by Bo Ransdell, Thomas R. Martin, Ryan Dean. Starring Ashlee Hewitt, Katherine Bailess, Kiely Williams, Sterling Knight, Thomas Calabro.
