Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley star in the direct-to-video Disney sequel “Another Cinderella Story”
By Matthew B. Zeidman
HOLLYWOOD, CA (RushPRnews /Hollywood Today) 1/7/09 – Selena Gomez has been labeled by some pundits as the heir apparent to “Hannah Montana†actress Miley Cyrus and her wild success as a sitcom star, singer and all-around entertainer. Her latest foray into the ‘tween market, however, has her taking the torch from the Disney poster child of yesteryear—Hilary Duff.
“Another Cinderella Story,†released recently on Blu-ray and DVD, sees Gomez headline a modified version of the classic story that helped revive the Disney brand in 1950.
Unlike Duff’s 2004 release, “A Cinderella Story,†which was essentially a modern retelling of the fairytale, this title could best be described as “Cinderella†meets “Step Up.†Unfortunately, the filmmakers’ attempt to add a hip twist to the beloved children’s tale works poorly.
The first major crack in the façade is Jane Lynch as a middle-aged pop star to whom Gomez’s character is some sort of indentured servant. While Lynch’s two daughters often compete for the attention of the film’s proverbial Prince Charming (Drew Seeley), it is Lynch, herself, who is Gomez’s chief rival.
Lynch constantly tries to convince an unwilling Seeley, also a singer and dancer, to appear in her latest sultry music video and give her career a boost. The viewer is left wondering why the onstage antics of an apparently successful 40-something resemble those of Britney Spears and if this was intended as some sort of tacit parody of Madonna.
As for the dance component of “Another Cinderella Story,†it also seems hollow. Gomez trains in secret behind a looking glass in her school’s rehearsal studio, in order to fight for an audition at a highly competitive performing arts college and get closer to Seeley, but this passion on paper is never really reflected by Gomez in her dialogue or stage presence.
The dance numbers, themselves, are impressive enough, as are the film’s original songs, but it’s nothing that hasn’t been seen in spades over the past decade (e.g., “Save the Last Dance,†“Honey,†“Step Up,†etc.). Additionally, the likeliness that most of the heavy lifting was done by a body double (Gomez’s face is never seen during the more difficult sequences) robs the story of the little magic it had going for it.
While Gomez is a highly charismatic entertainer, “Another Cinderella Story†is proof that a talented cast cannot save an otherwise-flawed story. The film might do well as bubblegum entertainment for those most fiercely devoted to the popular up-and-comer, but any ‘tween with even the smallest modicum of taste will be left confounded and insulted by this pop culture mishmash.