BY RICARDO A. LUJAN JR.
For this week’s Tiger at the (home) theatre, it felt right to do a Christmas movie. However, with no Christmas movies playing at the Hays theater right now., a movie was randomly selected out of the Christmas selection available on Netflix instead. Grab some blankets, make some hot cocoa, and make yourself comfortable on the couch as it’s time to find out if A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish is worth the watch.
Basic Info
Runtime
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish has a runtime of 1:26.
Director
Michelle Johnston is the director of A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish.
Cast
Laura Marano – Kat Decker
Gregg Sulkin – Dominic Wintergarden
Johannah Newmarch – Deirdra Decker
Lillian Doucet-Roche – Joy Decker
Chanelle Peloso – Grace Decker
Story
The story revolves around Kat Decker as she deals with her mean stepmother and sisters all while falling for a guy that she thinks is out of her league. The film follows many of the plot points from the original Cinderella Story. While it doesn’t do anything to drastically change the formula of Cinderella story movies, it does change enough to make the story feel fresh.
The entire cast does a great job throughout the entire film. Every single member bounces off each other naturally especially in the case of Marano and Sulkin. As the two leads of the film, they do a nice job of injecting charm into all their scenes with each other which is a crucial component to the Cinderella story formula working.
The mean trio of Kat’s step-mother and step-sisters do a phenomenal job in their roles and have some of the funniest moments in the movie with their witty dialogue. Newmarch plays her character to perfection as the main antagonist to Kat. The casting of this movie couldn’t have been better.
Design
The set design for this film is one of its best aspects. Every set just screams Christmas joy at the top of its lungs. The bright color palette is what helps sell that feeling of Christmas as the red and green of the Christmas spirit is visible in almost every single scene in this film.
The overall cinematography is nothing to be amazed by. The director plays it rather safe by using basic angles for the majority of the film. There are a few moments where they experiment a little bit with angles, but nothing that is memorable or noteworthy.
Music
This film includes a few moments where characters burst out in song. These scenes are fun to watch. Their inclusion helps break up the movie a bit and get it through some moments where the plot seems to be stalling.
The singing talent displayed by Marano, who is an actual musician, is quite good. The choreography for the singing scenes does its job. Not every single musical scene has a dance to it; however, the choice to put these scenes in did pay off well as they improved the movie greatly.
Conclusion
A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish is not a movie I would normally watch although I did enjoy it regardless. The movie contains a great cast that works well together, a nice and engaging story despite the familiarity of the plot, and all the joy you would expect from a Christmas movie.
I would recommend this movie to anyone who is in the spirit of watching Christmas movies and doesn’t want to watch another typical Hallmark Christmas movie. You can currently find A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish streaming on Netflix and on Amazon Prime Video. The movie is also available on Blu-Ray/DVD and for purchase/rent on Vudu, YouTube, and Google Play.