The new Cinderella film starring popstar Camila Cabello and James Corden has been released today on Amazon and it’s fair to say that the jury’s still out on this one.
Grammy-nominated Cabello plays Cinderella in her first-ever acting role, while the late-night host Corden, who is also a producer, is one of the mice. Billy Porter stars as the fairy godparent or “Fairy G”, while actress Idina Menzel takes on the role of the evil stepmother. There’s also Pierce Brosnan as King Rowan and Missy Elliot as a Town Crier.
Although it is a re-telling of the classic story, there is a modern twist to the plot (Warning: *spoilers ahead*).
The Cinderella in this film has been described in reviews by The Independent, Vulture, and NPR as a “Girlboss” version of the character, where she designs dresses. But, after falling in love with Prince Robert (Nicholas Galitzine), she has to choose between love and her work.
However, these critics have implied this “Girlboss” element isn’t necessarily a positive quality, describing this Cinderella as “sorely lacking in feminist credentials” and criticising the film’s “watery effort to make this story feel satisfyingly feminist.”
(And, if you’ve read our 10 signs of being cheugy article, then you will know that “Girlboss” is seen as a phrase to describe outdated feminism).
Even before its release, the film was being talked about – in part thanks to the rather bizarre footage of James Corden thrusting in a mouse costume at a flash mob.
A teaser clip showing the iconic fairy godmother scene was also posted on Reddit in the “Cringetopia” subreddit, with people comparing it to an SNL skit or believing it to be a joke or parody.
And, since its release, the newest version has been panned by critics – with a 39% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of just 43.
But punters seemed to have responded to the film more positively, with an audience score of 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cinderella’s Rotten Tomatoes score
(Rotten Tomatoes)However, a look on Twitter shows that it’s rather a mixed bag, with many not really rating the 2021 re-telling:
Some, though, have expressed their love for the film, in all its girl boss musical glory.
And others were excited to see some well-known British comedians featured in the film, including James Acaster and Romesh Ranganathan as footmen/mice, and Rob Beckett as Thomas Cecil.
It’s clear this fairytale isn’t quite hitting the magic mark this time around…
You can now watch Cinderella on Amazon Prime.