After the Ball (2015)

After a young fashion designer runs afoul of her corrupt stepmother and stepsisters, she dons a disguise to help save the family business for her father.

Director:

Sean Garrity

Writers:

Jason Sherman (screenplay), Kate Melville (screenplay)

Stars:

Portia Doubleday, Marc-André Grondin, Chris Noth

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Portia Doubleday	...	Kate Kassell / Nate
Marc-André Grondin	...	Daniel
Chris Noth	...	Lee Kassell
Lauren Holly	...	Elise
Natalie Krill	...	Tannis
Anna Hopkins	...	Simone
David Michael	...	Maurice
Mimi Kuzyk	...	Bella Shapiro
Carlo Rota	...	Richard
Colin Mochrie	...	Colin Frost
Michael Mancini	...	Receptionist
Lola Tash	...	Polly
Deena Aziz	...	Couture Executive
Sasha Lipskaia	...	Russian Model
Henry Kwok	...	Ron Sakamoto

Storyline

After the Ball, a retail fairy tale set in the world of fashion. Kate's dream is to design for couturier houses. Although she is a bright new talent, Kate can't get a job. No one trusts the daughter of Lee Kassell, a retail guru who markets clothes "inspired" by the very designers Kate wants to work for. Who wants a spy among the sequins and stilettos? Reluctantly, Kate joins the family business where she must navigate around her duplicitous stepmother and two wicked stepsisters, but with help from a prince of a guy in the shoe department, a god-brotherly gay pal in the design office, her godmother's vintage clothes, and a shocking switch of identities, Kate exposes the evil trio, saves her father's company, and proves that everyone can wear a fabulous dress.

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Plot Keywords:

overalls | montreal quebec | godmother goddaughter relationship | father daughter relationship | stepmother stepdaughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kate (Portia Doubleday) goes by the alias of Nate Ganymede while working at Kassell disguised as a man. This is a reference to William Shakespeare's "As You Like It," where the female character Rosalind masquerades as a boy named Ganymede.

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Goofs

When Kate is sorting through buttons, she places a box into a large gray container, but in the next shot the gray container is gone. Then she is seen pulling out the gray container and placing it where it had been before and putting two other boxes inside of it.

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Quotes

Colin: Why don't you come work for me? You're young. You should be with a winner.
Nate: I prefer to work somewhere with a little bit of legacy.
Colin: Nothing lasts forever.
[Both laugh]
Nate: [staring up at Colin's bald head] Clearly.

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Connections

References Notting Hill (1999)

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Soundtracks

Be My Man
Written by Jill Barber, Less Cooper
Performed by Jill Barber

User Reviews

sorta Cinderella

Newly graduated Kate Kassell (Portia Doubleday) is trying to be a fashion designer but her father Lee (Chris Noth)'s cheap knockoff reputation stymies her. She joins her fathers company which was started with her deceased mother. Her stepmother Elise (Lauren Holly) schemes to kick her out of the company. Elise with her simpleton daughters are undermining the company. After they successfully get Kate fired, her friends suggest returning as a male designer.

This is sorta Cinderella with a dash of Twelfth Night. I like Portia Doubleday and really the only reason to watch this. Her weird-looking male character is off-putting at first but he does grow on me. The father is infuriating as if he is suffering dementia. It might be helpful to see the roots of the dysfunctional father daughter relationship. The evil stepmother is fine. The fashion business is nothing insightful or real. At the end of the day, none of that is the big problem. It is simply too cheap and too cheesy to be effective. It is not more than a TV movie that cannot elevate. Doubleday does an admirable job but it is not enough.

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

24 April 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

After the Ball

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$31,718, 1 March 2015

Gross USA:

$161,820

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$234,417

Company Credits

Production Co:

Myriad Pictures, Pacific Northwest Pictures, TVA Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Color:

Color