A Cinderella Story is a teen
romantic comedy film starring
Hilary Duff and
Chad Michael Murray written by Leigh Dunlap. A modern-day take on the classic story of
Cinderella, the plot involves a lost cell phone, rather than the traditional glass slipper. Directed by Mark Rosman, the film also includes
Jennifer Coolidge,
Dan Byrd,
Regina King,
Julie Gonzalo and
Lin Shaye. The movie features the song "Now You Know", written and performed by
Kara DioGuardi and an
Our Lips Are Sealed cover by
Hilary and
Haylie Duff. It features on the soundtrack being sung by
Hilary Duff. The film was given overwhelmingly negative reviews by most critics, but the film was a box office success garnering $66 million worldwide.
Plot
Sam Montgomery (
Hilary Duff) lived a semi-fairytale life with her widowed father (
Whip Hubley) when she was 8 years old in a suburb in California. Later, her father opened up a
Diner named after him and fell in love with a woman named Fiona (
Jennifer Coolidge) which he later married. One day, a falling support beam kills her father in the
1994 Northridge earthquake and leaves her with her plastic-surgery/salmon-obsessed stepmother and her two cruel stepsisters Brianna (
Madeline Zima) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery). Eight years later, Sam is a straight-A student enduring her uncaring stepmother's wrath, who turned her father's cafe into a hot-pink hot spot and forces her to work as a diner girl. In addition to her family, Sam must deal with the popular girls at school, particularly the head cheerleader, Shelby Cummings (
Julie Gonzalo). Sam confides in her best friend Carter (
Dan Byrd) and her cyberspace pen pal, who wants to attend
Princeton University with her. What she doesn't know is that her secret admirer turns out to be Austin Ames (
Chad Michael Murray), the quarterback of the football team and the most popular student at school who is currently dating Shelby.
