Another Cinderella Story (2008)

Another Cinderella Story is a 2008 American teen musical comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano and written by Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott. The film stars Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley, and Jane Lynch. It is a stand-alone sequel to A Cinderella Story (2004) and the second installment in A Cinderella Story series. Like the first film, it is a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale in a modern setting. The film had favorable reviews and Gomez won a Young Artist Award for her performance. It was released on DVD on September 16, 2008, and premiered on ABC Family on January 18, 2009. The film was followed by A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011).

Plot

Mary Santiago, a high school senior aspiring to become a dancer, is neglected and used by her legal guardian, washed-up pop star Dominique Blatt, because her deceased mother was one of Dominique's dancers. At home, Dominique and her snobby daughters Britt and Bree treat Mary as a maid. While in school, Mary and her best friend Tami are bullied by Britt, Bree, and Natalia Faroush. Joey Parker, a famous celebrity and pop star, has returned to school for his senior year and to remember why he started dancing, accompanied by his best friend, Dustin/The Funk. He is also hosting a dance contest where the winner will be his partner in his next music video. It is revealed that Natalia, who is Joey’s ex-girlfriend, is determined to get back together with him.

Joey hosts a dance class that Natalia, Britt, and Bree attend. Mary sneaks behind the one-way mirror and is the only one able to match his moves, but her cell phone rings and she flees. Later, Dominique, hoping to revitalize her career, asks Joey to perform a duet with her while Britt and Bree hit on him, but he refuses, especially since Dominique had insulted him on TRL.

The school holds a masquerade ball on Valentine's Day, but Dominique plans to go partying and orders Mary to clean her room by midnight. Fortunately, Tami contacts her sister's boyfriend's family, who owns a cleaning service; and offers to help. Tami provides them with outfits and masks for the ball. Joey ask Mary to dance. They stun everyone with their skills, but Britt and Bree spill a bowl of M&M's and Mary falls. Joey helps Mary up and takes his mask off, shocking her. Mary notices a clock and realizes she has fifteen minutes before Dominique arrives. She accidentally drops her Zune, but returns home just in time.

The next day, Joey announces to the school that he has the Zune, saying whoever can announce the top four most played songs is the mystery girl. A bunch of girls (and a few boys) get in line and try to do it, obviously failing. Britt and Bree conclude Mary is the mystery girl and threatens to release an embarrassing video she made when she was eleven, if she tries to tell Joey. Tami convinces her not to care about that, and she tries to tell him, but he blows her off, believing that Dominique is using Mary to convince him to do a duet with her.

At Britt and Bree's birthday party, Dustin recognizes Tami as his dance partner and flirts with her having proved his identity. Mary tries to tell Joey again, but Britt and Bree play the video. Embarrassed, Mary runs to her room. She plays the song from the ball. Joey realizes she was the mystery girl and asks her on a date. Later, Mary receives a letter saying she has been accepted by the Manhattan Academy of Performing Arts, but when the academy calls to confirm it, Dominique answers and claims Mary has "two broken legs".

Attempting to stop the date, Britt and Bree give Mary a ridiculous number of chores, but this backfires when Joey helps her by dancing through them. She helps him write his next song. He "invites" her to his house, but when she arrives, she sees through the window, Natalia talking to Joey in bed and runs off in tears. Dominique insincerely comforts her and claims the academy rejected her.

Joey is confused when she gives him the cold shoulder. Dustin confronts Tami, who berates Joey for cheating on Mary. They clarify Natalia broke into his house to drive Mary away. Tami agrees to help them. The dance contest is near, and Tami and Dustin convince a still bitter Mary to attend. A Manhattan Academy representative is there at Joey's invitation. After Britt, Bree, and Natalia put on lackluster performances, Joey calls Mary to the stage and convinces her to dance with him. The duo performs the song they wrote. Joey admits that there's nothing going on between him and Natalia. Mary wins the contest and Natalia admits Mary did great. The representative reveals Dominique's lie and says Mary is accepted. Joey and Mary kiss. Dominique tries to leave the stage and falls, ironically breaking both of her legs.

As Mary, Joey, Tami, and Dustin load Mary's belongings in a van, a wheelchair-using Dominique begs her not to go as Joey and Mary share another kiss and drive away.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Amber Wilkinson of Eye for Film gave the film four out of five stars and praised the musical aspects, saying that "the song and dance numbers are so well-handled and catchy, it's a shame there aren't more of them." She also said that the "characters are so wafer thin they barely cast a shadow." Although Wilkinson says that the film is completely different from A Cinderella Story, Lacey Walker, reviewing for Christian Answers, notes several aspects of the two films that were directly parallel to each other. Walker also gave it three out of five stars, praising the script, saying the writers "peppered this story with a surprising dose of humor and some pleasing plot twists." However, Walker specifically criticized the "glaringly obvious" age difference between the 15-year-old Gomez and the 26-year-old Seeley.

Accolades

Soundtrack

Notes

References

External links

Another Cinderella Story at IMDb

Another Cinderella Story at Rotten Tomatoes

Another Cinderella Story at the TCM Movie Database (archived)