oh, i guess we're doing these now
so disclaimer here: i don't actually watch a lot of movies? so if you think my rating doesn't match the IMDb or rotten tomatoes rating, it's because my taste in movies is extremely niche and i don't want anyone to just rely on my "review" to decide on whether to watch a movie; these are just my thoughts and they most probably won't match yours, or the majority's thoughts. pls dont @me, i just wanna enjoy my movies
unlike me and my reluctance to watch movies, my parents watch any random movie they can find, so the living room always has some or the other movie going on in it.
usually it's one of those hallmark movies, which are all the same; some love story going on in the background of some business-related work, all set around christmas. i don't like those, so i'm never gnna watch them or review them.
so i stood in my usual spot: just outside the living room, leaning against a wall, in sight of the TV; and i started watching the movie.
now usually i would click off the moment i see modern slangs in a movie, but this one was supposed to be family friendly, so i wondered how they would try to make it "hip" while keeping it family friendly, and looked on.
you know how netflix has been trying to make their shows more "hip" and it always ends up looking like a product of bean counters not knowing what they're doing, because that's what was happening? long ago, when i stopped getting entertained by newly relased movies, i never thought i would say this, but i gotta give them credit where credit's due:
lemme explain what i mean.
i may or may not agree with the decision of taking on Camilla Cabello as lead cast, but then her singing talent (even though i don't like her songs at all) is certainly better than Emma Watson, who was still taken for Beauty and the Beast, because, well, she's Emma Watson.
so although this shouldn't even be a thing one should have to wish for in a musical, but at they did take actual vocalists for the cast.
as for the modernisation of the language, well people do that all the time; the bible wasn't originally in english, was it? things keep getting adapted and changed, so simply not trying it becuse it's different isn't the best way to approach new things. and i really liked how they changed it. i mean yeah it does assume you know the original story, so i guess that makes it lose a few points; but it allows for 4th wall breaks that made me laugh quite a bit, without making me feel embarrassed to be watching the movie, or worse, making me cringe.
the dynamic with the king being unable to participate in the musicals was also not bad (i didn't particularly love it, but it did add something to the movie and it won't be the same without that dynamic)
i felt like the announcer sections were really good, but then that's like saying mumble rap is music, so screw my tastes don't trust what i say please or you'll regret it i need to stop this sentence right about now
now, for the most controversial thing:
spoilers incoming (since it's not just the same old Cinderella story everybody knows), do NOT read more than this if you intend to watch the movie but haven't done it yet and are still reading this clearly biased opinion piece on it for some reason.
you have been warned.
So the beginning of the story wasn't exactly the most engaging, but it certainly did a good job of showing that the stepmother is just human, and not some evil person who couldn't care less about her stepdaughter, and instead as a person who does her best to love all her daughters equally (and relates quite a bit with Cinderella's wish to live on her own terms and be a working individual), but who inevitably can't overcome a a bias of preferential treatment towards her own biological children; this more human perspective makes the stepmother a lot more human and puts her in a morally grey area, which is where most people live, hence making her character feel more believable*
oh dear asterisk, why must you bother me like this
so there's a caveat I need to address: not everyone is lucky enough to get a good stepmother/stepfather, and really cruel people still do exist; but they're not nearly as common as they used to be in medieval times, and most people do get stepmothers and stepfathers that aren't just plain bad, because almost nothing in the real world is completely black and white. this is why i think that this change makes her character more believable than "oh i married a guy so her daughter is my slave now"
so, coming back to the story again!
the overall theme of the plot is about how we live in an age where it's acceptable for everyone to do whatever they want (like the prince not wanting to rule, the queen not liking the king's whole "I'm the king, dumdum; i can do whatever I want" shtick, Cinderella getting a chance to go on an adventure as a dress designer for the queen I've forgotten already, fab-G not needing to be a woman, and whatnot). and i like this refrain of "you can do whatever you want, child; it's the 21st century yo, nobody can stop you from being whoever you want to be (as long as you're not a certified asshole that is)"; this makes this movie distinct from all the other Cinderella remakes in that it's not trying to be accurate to history; it's trying to show how such a story could've taken place if the medieval period had the social and moral structure of the 21st century, all wrapped up in a neat little musical that doesn't last more than two hours (which is a relief, because shows that never seem to end are too popular in my opinion dont @me i also see such shows so shutup lemme live in my world of cognitive dissonance).
jeez, that was one huge wall of text; i guess i gotta condense it into something that's called a
the movie changes the story of a classic, which is quite a risky move to do, but i personally think that they did a nice job of handling it, and that i would call it a decent experience overall, despite having a lot of parts where i think it could've done better.
writing this was painful, because I had to restrain myself so much