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

At the dance Terry mentions "Austin Ames with the lady." "A devastating blow.." This would indicate that Austin should know that Cinderella is Sam, for Terry is obsessed with her and follows her around.

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Goofs

When Brianna and Gabriella are fighting in the car wash, Brianna jumps onto Gabriella's shoulders while soap starts spraying all over them. On the shots with the camera looking up at them, the soap is spraying on both of them, but when the camera goes to an overhead shot, the soap is only spraying on Gabriella.

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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

Followed by A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits (2016)

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Soundtracks

First Day Of The Rest Of Our Lives
Written by Michael Herrera
Performed by MXPX (as MxPx)
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Unexpectedly Emotional and Hilarious!

Well, I thought that this movie is just some teen romance flick that will not emphasize so much on feeling. Fortunately, it turns out unexpectedly. The feeling in this movie is so appealing and sensible. It is not just merely the fantasy story of Cinderella that one would have expect it to be. At least I can feel the emotions and the romance. For a romance movie, I don't expect it to be as great as Titanic, but this movie is just fine. Besides, this movie also brings forth many messages that would be useful to youth nowadays and I consider it to be very educational. The most important message in this movie I personally think is 'nothing is impossible if you just believe' and 'the fear of being rejected' as these messages are vital in the life as a teenager nowadays. Overall, this movie fulfill most of the important aspects that one movie should have. It has a good plot and well-acted by the casts. The casts managed to express their character well and this is quite remarkable as most of them are young actors like Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray. This movie also has an appropriate soundtrack to go with it. One more thing, this movie is surely hilarious and I think most of the people will like it. With all the mentioned features, one will remain seated until the entire movie ends. Quite a good movie!!!