Flipside Movie Emporium

[Danny Baldwin]

I had really never thought much of Hilary Duff's career before; often times I would refer to her as the average teenage nitwit "actress". But, after seeing Roeper's strikingly positive review of A Cinerella Story, I decided to check it out (mostly because I wanted to delay the wrath of Catwoman until today). First watching the episode of "Ebert & Roeper" made me think he was crazy, but after seeing the movie, I'm not so sure he is. Ebert could be considered nuttier for giving it only one star. Make no mistake, I don't mean to compare it to anything of true quality, but it brings up an interesting idea. Duff had enough talent to save a movie with no sense of direction or writing. That, alone, leads me to believe she's actually quite a good actress. Thinking back to Agent Cody Banks and The Lizzie McGuire Movie, I think the same thing can be said. This has provided me with the weird temptation to watch both of them again, even though I didn't recommend them, originally.

I wrote a great deal of praise in my review, and I'm as shocked as any of you may be reading this. "Perhaps the only good move the director, Mark Rosman, made was to allow Duff to craft her character, by herself. It seems as though, despite the best attempts of the cast, every other persona the audience is introduced to seems absolutely and annoyingly idiotic. But thank God for Hilary; she?s the greatest gift this kind of movie could possess. Every time she?s onscreen, A Cinderella Story shines, becoming instantly sympathetic and identifiable to. There is something in her presence that all of us can relate to, as she always brings about a lovely value to performing that is free of common techniques to superficially manipulate viewers, which are often used by stars in this sort of picture. Duff is always charming, and clearly sees how she should play her cards. Sam is a rather one-note character, so instead of trying to bring depth to her, the actress finds a simple common-ground with the audience and uses it as a lever for her work. As a result, she always seems interesting and natural in the film, just the kind of star you?d actually want to hang out with in real life for a day. Here?s a tough question that I?m not sure I will ever be able to answer: should Duff keep on improving terrible ?tween flicks and making them somewhat watchable, or learn to pick better scripts and contribute to more enlightening material? It would be easier to jump to the latter conclusion, but something inside of me would like her to keep taking the same path."

I never really paid attention to this type of thing before, but, despite the mediocrity of A Cinderella Story, I'm almost glad I realized her performance, and potential for better films. Ebert has some interesting comments in his review, which show that none of us that aren't 'tweenage girls are truly sold to the Duff fan club, but, you know, I'm becoming close. Perhaps I'm experiencing temporary insanity, or maybe I've simply come to respect glowing traits in abysmal pictures. Either way, it's hard to deny that she's charming.
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Danny Baldwin

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[GimmickAccount]

Sup Hilary Duff fanboy
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[Danny Baldwin]

Good 'ol Gimmick is always there to satirize us all. Maybe I should be "Gimmick fanboy" instead. I've never doubted your mastery.
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Danny Baldwin

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[HoRRoRFaN]

Since I'll probably never see this (definitely not in theaters anyway), I'll take your word for it. Only movie that I've seen Duff in was THE LIZZIE McGUIRE MOVIE and I thought that she did as well as she could possibly do with a character that she played for such a long time on the TV show, which I've never seen. Nothing amazed me in the least nor did she prove me of any talent that she might have, but maybe this is a much different performance. At first I thought that this was a joke, but reading your comments, I believed every word...
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"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." -Stanley Kubrick

[Danny Baldwin]

...Please take into account I did give LIZZIE one and a half stars and CODY two and a half. I don't mean to defend the movies, in the least.
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Danny Baldwin

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[Michael Scrutchin]

[Danny Baldwin]

I actually e-mailed him on it and he's dead serious. I wish I could dig up his response. There's another reason to see LIZZIE again.
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Danny Baldwin

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[Michael Scrutchin]

[Danny Baldwin]

This is small-talk compared to the extent in which Beltmann will surely ridicule me. Right up there with watching Bringing Down The House in fullscreen.
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Danny Baldwin

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[HoRRoRFaN]

[Michael Scrutchin]

[Danny Baldwin]

I'd rather buy a thousand of those than the movie. But, hey, maybe, if I finish my history project, I'll watch it again, as I sift through baaab's review. I actually frequently find myself watching the show when it plays at 11:30, because there's nothing else better on.
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Danny Baldwin

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[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

I saw it in theatres beforhand, alright!? :lol:

You would be proud of me. I even refuserd to watch Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen with my brothers because they chose fullscreen. That's the scar the Belt's crack leaves.
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Danny Baldwin

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[Dr Giggles]

From Eric Stanze to Hillary Duff.

this boards diversity can never be questioned.

Hillary duff on the other hand...
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walking on air, up from the wheelchair,

I'll find the suicide, that I deserve.