A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits

"A Cinderella Story" has become an iconic franchise, with the version starring Hilary Duff standing out as a standout favorite. While Duff's portrayal alongside Chad Michael Murray brought a modern twist to the classic tale of Cinderella, subsequent installments in the franchise have failed to live up to the same standard. The franchise seems to be struggling to recapture the magic of the original film, instead resorting to unnecessary side stories and deviations from the core Cinderella narrative. It appears that attempts to replicate the success of the Walt Disney and Roger and Hammerstein versions have fallen short, leading to a sense of fatigue and irrelevance surrounding the franchise. Despite the star power of Selena Gomez in "Another Cinderella Story," the film failed to reach the heights set by Hilary Duff's portrayal. Similarly, Lucy Hale's "A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song" was criticized for its lackluster execution and departure from the essence of the Cinderella story. "Sofia Carson's "A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits" attempted to capitalize on dance elements reminiscent of "Grease," but ultimately fell flat, marking a low point in the franchise. Laura Marano's "A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish" was deemed the weakest link in the series, solidifying the downward trend in quality. As the franchise continues with new installments, the lackluster reception of recent films has dampened enthusiasm for further entries in the series. Viewers may find it challenging to engage with future releases given the disappointing trajectory of the franchise.

**Another Cinderella story, with or without a shoe.** I watched it because I've seen the other three in the series of the present-day adaptations of the classical Cinderella story. After Hilary Duff, Selena Gomez and Lucy Hale, not its time for Sofia Carson. One of the most famous fairy tales of all and the most adapted to the screen as well. That's the negative of this, though being a different version, like the timeline, setting, cast makes it watchable. But still not the best you could anticipate. The lowest one in the series and a warning bell to stop from going for more films in the series. I need not to say anything about the story, it was just altered tale of what you know very well. Except there's no magic. As well as no logic to the actual world. Those disguised scenes were very silly. Simply a timepass film and no more. All the actors were decent. The songs were too. It was made by a choreographer turned director as his first feature film. Not an ideal project for his kind of field of expertise. He could have turned it to full fledged musical, but he didn't. Anyway, some people would enjoy it, particularly the young girls. So, I won't favout it, unless desperate to see it. _4/10_