A Cinderella Story (2004)

Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Sam Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.

Director:

Mark Rosman

Writer:

Leigh Dunlap

Stars:

Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge

6 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hilary Duff	...	Sam
Jennifer Coolidge	...	Fiona
Chad Michael Murray	...	Austin
Dan Byrd	...	Carter
Regina King	...	Rhonda
Julie Gonzalo	...	Shelby
Lin Shaye	...	Mrs. Wells
Madeline Zima	...	Brianna
Andrea Avery Ray	...	Gabriella (as Andrea Avery)
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Eleanor
Paul Rodriguez	...	Bobby
Whip Hubley	...	Sam's Dad
Kevin Kilner	...	Austin's Dad
Erica Hubbard	...	Madison
Simon Helberg	...	Terry

Storyline

Samantha or "Sam", has a rough childhood with her father dying in an earthquake and a new stepmother with two awful daughters. But on the bright side, Sam has an awesome best friend named Carter and an email relationship with a guy named Nomad. One day, Sam gets an email from her Nomad saying that he wants to meet her in the middle of the dance floor at their high school Halloween dance. She accepts the invitation and glides into the room wearing the best outfit ever. Her Nomad takes her outside where they share a romantic dance together and Sam realizes that her email friend is the most popular guy in school, Austin Ames. She runs back to her stepmother's diner before she knows she went to the dance and drops her phone on the way. Austin finds it and starts a search for his Cinderella.

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Plot Keywords:

cinderella story | female protagonist | teenage girl | correspondence | evil step mother | 

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Taglines:

Once upon a time... can happen any time.

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English German Czech

Release Date:

16 July 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled 'Cinderella' Project

Filming Locations:

Monrovia, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,623,350, 18 July 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$51,438,175

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$70,164,105

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Gaylord Films,Clifford Werber Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (DTS HD Master Audio 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) SDDS (8 channels) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1) D-Cinema 48kHz 5.1 (D-Cinema prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hilary Duff accepted the lead role because Charles Perrault's story "Cinderella" was her favorite fairy tale when she was growing up.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, the position of the part of the shirt covering Fiona's left shoulder changes between shots.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sam: Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, lived a beautiful little girl and her widowed father.

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Connections

Spoofs Finding Nemo (2003)

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Soundtracks

I Met A Girl
Written by Richard Brennan, Brendan Harney, and Scott Levesque
Performed by Wheat
Courtesy of Aware Records/Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Fantastic retelling!

Hilary Duff, Jennifer Coolidge, and Chad Michael Murray lead a stellar cast in this outstanding update of the classic tale. Great performances all around! Despite a few corny moments, the film does a great job of being genuinely funny. Chad does a good job, even better than in Freaky Friday! Jennifer's kooky humor adds to the merriment as do the excellent supporting roles by Dan Byrd and Regina King.

Hilary is fantastic. She steals every scene! A truly remarkable, and talented young lady! The soundtrack is absolutely amazing! Including Hilary's fantastic renderings of Crash World, The Girl Can Rock, Now You Know, and Anywhere But Here; Haylie Duff's One In This World; and the smash hit Our Lips Are Sealed by Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff.

A great movie for any age group. Absolutely hilarious!