Stanko's Stance

Director: Andy Tennant
Writers: Susannah Grant, Andy Tennant, Rich Parks, Charles Perrault
Staring: Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Dougray Scott
Streaming: Disney+
Release Date: 1998

My girlfriend wanted to watch Ever After and who am I to say no to watching a movie. The revolves around the Cinderella story everyone knows about. What makes this near turn of the century version different is that it takes out the fairy tale aspects and grounds the fantastical into at least some realistic footing. Drew Barrymore stars of Danielle, the “Cinderella” of the story. Her suitor is Prince Harry, played by Dougray Scott.

Ever After: A Cinderella Story is a perfectly adequate movie. I know, riveting stuff to read here. But in all seriousness, Ever After hits all the notes of a classic romantic comedy and the Cinderella story most know about. The highs, lows, close calls and happy endings are all there. The family friendly movie also has the side characters that make a movie like Ever After rise above the like for forgettability.

In terms of the side characters, none are better than Jacqueline, played by Melanie Lynskey. She has the best one-liners when arguing with her sister Marguerite (Megan Dodds) and Rodmilla (Anjelica Huston). Lynskey makes Jacqueline the most personable and enjoyable experience of the adventure.

Ever After: A Cinderella Story has not aged…the best. The fashion (as pointed out by my girlfriend) is strictly a blend between the medieval setting and the release date’s fashion. The roughest part of the movie takes place on the acting side.

Dougray Scott is not a great Prince Harry. He is not a great prince charming. He does not play the part with the same whimsical nature of Barrymore or Huston. His earnestness seemed forced. The chemistry between Barrymore and Scott did not work. It’s struggle luckily was not enough to bring the entire movie down.

Stanko Rating: C+ (2.5/5 Stars)

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