Promotional movie poster featuring Lucy Hale and Freddie Stroma for “A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song”, showcasing the film’s musical and romantic themes.
Hello movie buffs!
After venturing into darker cinematic territories, it’s time for a lighter note. We’re revisiting the world of fairytale retellings, specifically diving back into the A Cinderella Story series. It’s been a while, but we’re finally tuning in to A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song.
I’ve always found these movies to be enjoyable review subjects. They strike a balance – flawed enough to critique, yet entertaining enough to not feel like a complete slog. This installment continues that trend, and honestly, I was quite eager to watch and dissect this one.
This particular movie was somewhat of an enigma to me, mainly because it wasn’t in the Disney Channel rotation due to its lead actress not being a Disney star. There was a worry it might be the least captivating of the bunch to review.
However, it turned out to be quite the opposite, which makes for a fun analysis. Side note, I’m still a little annoyed it wasn’t titled Yet Another Cinderella Story. Interestingly, despite being released only three years after the previous film, they retained the same director and writers.
Adding a bit of trivia, I recently discovered that the director also helmed Three to Tango, a movie reviewed by the Cinema Snob. Small world, right? But what exactly makes Once Upon a Song stand out, for better or worse, from its fairytale kin?
Let’s get into it.
This is A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song.
The movie immediately sets itself apart with a musical dream sequence right from the opening. I must admit, I find this opening sequence more engaging, at least visually, as it feels more elaborate. Though, the beginning does give off a slight “California Gurls” vibe for some reason.
But the most striking aspect of this opening song is a particular lyric:
“I got high heel stilettos, and I’m kicking in doors, and kissing your ass ain’t what my lipsticks for”
Whoa there, feisty! We’re barely into the movie, and already we’ve stumbled into the “edgy” Cinderella Story territory. Anyway, dream sequence ends, and we’re properly introduced to Katie, played by Lucy Hale.
We also meet her predictably annoying, troublemaker brother, and then the wicked stepmother Gail, portrayed by Missi Pyle with… a questionable Southern accent. It’s an attempt, but it lands more on the silly side than menacing.
Gail works at an academy and is somehow connected to Massive Records Inc. (yes, that’s actually the record label’s name). The president of this label wants to enroll his son, Luke, who is our love interest, though initially presented as lacking any discernible personality.
Talk about a quick setup! At least they’ve already established that Katie and Luke have seen each other, which is a detail that might become relevant later. Katie manages to sneak her demo CD into Luke’s dad’s bag, although the likelihood of him actually listening to it feels like a long shot.
Next, we encounter Luke’s sidekick, who is remarkably similar to the best friend character in the previous Cinderella Story film. I understand these movies follow the same fairytale blueprint, but recycling original supporting character archetypes feels a bit uninspired.
Nothing of real substance happens in that scene, so let’s move on to Gail’s scene with her… guru?
“Release that butt”
…Right, moving swiftly along. Let’s jump to Katie announcing dinner to Victor.
“Tell me something I don’t know”
Hey, that’s the title of a song from the second movie! A subtle nod, perhaps?
During dinner, Gail showcases her villainous nature by complaining about her “ungrateful” kids, which indicates that the stepsister isn’t exactly getting off scot-free in the evil department either.
“And a random table-cloth wearing Asian” “Indian”
Yikes, did they really go there with that casual racism?
“I don’t feel nothing”
“That’s because you don’t have a soul”
…Brutal honesty?
Stepsister Bev’s ambition is to win a recording contract, but she’s vocally challenged, a fact Gail is bluntly honest about.
“Does that make me a bad person that I kind of enjoyed that?”
Maybe, Gail, but lines like that do make you the most entertaining character in this movie.
Later, in a rather uncomfortable scene, while Katie is showering, Victor steals her clothes. When she tries to retrieve them, Victor locks her outside, clad only in a towel… and then proceeds to remove the towel.
…Okay, wow.
I genuinely wasn’t expecting this level of implied nudity in a Cinderella Story movie, especially considering Lucy Hale’s involvement in horror films this year. We then get a scene of her strategically using a plant for… modesty, until she eventually resorts to wearing a welcome mat. And just as things couldn’t get any more awkward, Luke arrives. Cue the dramatic music.
Surprisingly, Luke’s reaction is oddly composed. He seems unfazed when Katie explains the situation. It’s definitely a less contrived meet-cute scenario than we might have expected.
Concurrently, Guy Morgan, the president of Massive Records, calls Gail to say he loved the demo. The editing feels a bit clunky here, cutting between this call and Katie’s conversation with Luke, where he vaguely mentions his complicated family situation.
“Is it as complicated as me getting stuck outside in only a welcome mat?”
“That’s not complicated. That is a gift from god”. …He probably meant compared to his family issues, but taken out of context… that sounds a tad creepy. Bev answers the door, but only lets Luke in, which he doesn’t seem to notice or question.
Gail welcomes Luke in, but her focus quickly shifts to the demo CD. Gail has told Guy that the demo was actually Bev’s, which makes sense as he hasn’t actually heard Bev sing, so he wouldn’t know the difference. Hey, actual logic in a Cinderella Story movie is rare, so it deserves a shout-out.
So, Gail’s scheme is to have Bev lip-sync to Katie’s song at an upcoming academy showcase. She even has Katie sing a snippet of a song for her.
“-she’s just a terrible bi-”
Goodness gracious, this movie is pushing the boundaries of its PG rating. Maybe Bev and Luke are providing the family-friendly balance.
“Do you know what other instruments I’m good at?”
“I have a feeling I I could get in trouble with a question like that”
…. I already made the family entertainment joke, but seriously! PERFECT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT!
Gail abruptly dismisses Luke so she can reveal her plan to Bev. We also get some exposition about Gail’s backstory – how she became Katie’s guardian after her dad passed and initially considered putting her in foster care to avoid looking bad. I think her reputation is beyond saving at this point.
I will acknowledge that the movie is making an effort to differentiate itself from the other Cinderella Story films. However, I’m starting to wonder when the traditional Cinderella elements will surface beyond the evil stepfamily dynamic.
There’s a scene with Luke where he mentions his talent scout said “no more auditions in the bathroom.” Do I even want to know the backstory there?
Anyway, naturally, there’s an upcoming dance, and Katie, of course, will attend in disguise. She also has a friend character who is only now becoming relevant, mostly because she doesn’t contribute much to the plot.
Katie is tasked with babysitting Victor on the night of the dance, giving us more glimpses into his terror-inducing behavior. In the scene preceding this, he apparently “pooped in the closet.” Charming.
Katie, predictably, decides to sneak out to the dance, leaving her friend to babysit Victor. But first, we discover Gail’s guru is only half-Indian and actually speaks with a Jersey accent. It was fairly obvious given the consistently inconsistent accent. Insert outdated Apu joke here.
None of this subplot really advances the main story, but the movie dedicates time to it, so there you have it. We then transition to the dance, which has a Bollywood theme, because… why not? Katie bumps into Luke, and he, of course, doesn’t recognize her because of her incredibly effective disguise: a veil.
Seriously, the rest of her outfit is a standard belly dancer ensemble, and her face is only partially obscured by a veil. They’ve had two face-to-face conversations already, and the second time, he HAD to look at her face given the… context of their meeting.
This might be the most ludicrously contrived “he doesn’t recognize her” scenario in all of these movies. How can he not recognize her at all? Heck, Gail manages to identify Bev under her veil just before this, so congratulations, Gail is now the sharper character.
Katie needs a diversion, so her friend challenges Gail to a dance-off. And thus, we are treated to a full-blown Bollywood dance number, with snippets of Katie and Luke interspersed throughout.
It drags on for an extended period and doesn’t really serve the plot. Yes, it’s a distraction, but we didn’t need to witness the entire performance. I haven’t paused the movie since starting to type about this dance scene, AND IT’S STILL GOING.
Okay, finally, it’s over. Now we can refocus on Katie singing to Luke. Humiliated, Gail retreats home, which means Katie needs to get back before her, but she fails.
Thankfully, Gail essentially lets her off with a slap on the wrist, making the whole “sneaking out” tension feel rather pointless. The next day, Luke is on a quest to find his veiled dancer, which is frustrating for reasons I’ve already outlined. It’s odd that there isn’t a glass slipper equivalent in this movie, unless her voice is supposed to be it.
They search in a music class, but the teacher spots them, leading to a Scooby-Doo-esque door chase scene. I am not making this up. What even is this film?
He runs into the room where Katie is recording for their plan, with Bev lip-syncing to her song. This leads to the predictable misunderstanding where Luke believes Bev is his mystery girl, despite the fact that her face doesn’t match even the limited view he had behind the veil. …Or the full-face views he had on two separate occasions earlier. Fine, I’ll suspend my disbelief again.
I will say this plot point does introduce a slightly more intriguing element compared to the other two movies, even if this is where the movie starts to lose some momentum.
Luke and Bev go on a date, with Katie texting Bev lines to say. It mostly goes as planned, but Bev still misinterprets words for comedic effect. Most of it is silly, but I did chuckle at her excuse for checking her phone – claiming her grandma is giving her updates, and then casually announcing her grandma “died” so she can abruptly leave.
I don’t think it was intended to be as darkly humorous as it comes across, but perhaps that’s just my warped sense of humor.
The next day, Luke visits Bev and ends up talking to Katie, which is just begging for me to reiterate my complaints about his inability to recognize her. Especially since they actually have a decent connection during this conversation.
After that, they consult Victor, who, surprisingly, is tech-savvy enough to have installed cameras throughout the house. I’d normally roll my eyes, but then Bev mentions they know about his “Surveillance crap,” which is a step down from “ass,” linguistically speaking.
“All your cameras hidden in every nook and cranny, I know”
“What kind of nooks and crannies are we talking about?”
…Oh dear.
They enlist Victor to set up a system for Katie to feed Bev lines to say to Luke during their music sessions. This actually works out smoothly, and there’s nothing particularly snarky to comment on, yawn.
However, I can comment on the subsequent scene where Victor witnesses Gail being generally awful to Katie about the ongoing charade.
“My mom is a bi-otch!”
Okay, we get it, I’ve commented enough on this movie’s unexpectedly edgy language. He’s witnessed her being terrible throughout the entire movie, but this is what finally motivates him to stop her?
“I’ll poop in her bed tonight”
Lovely.
And just like that, Victor decides to help Katie expose Gail. In an instant, he inexplicably stops hating her, and the movie attempts to create a heartwarming moment out of this abrupt change of heart.
Hey, remember when he locked her out of the house naked? Just checking. Anyway, the next scene shifts to Bev.
“You know how you’re a bitch and I act like I don’t care?”
Goodness, I should have started a running tally of these borderline inappropriate lines!
Bev surprisingly opens up and admits she’s nervous about the showcase that evening. This is actually a nice moment that adds a layer of depth to her character. …Too bad it doesn’t really go anywhere beyond this scene.
At the showcase, there’s some filler, and then Bev takes the stage. It doesn’t take long for Victor to intervene, cutting off Katie’s pre-recorded track and forcing Katie to sing live backstage. Through this, Luke finally discovers the truth.
Wow, that reveal was quick. I’d complain about the pacing, but at least it means we’re nearing the end.
Luke, thankfully, is completely unfazed by this revelation and starts filming Katie singing for the world to see. She’s then pushed onstage, which everyone in the audience seems perfectly fine with. I guess they’re ready for this movie to wrap up too.
At least there’s no drawn-out third-act break-up this time, hooray! Gail is defeated, Katie gets to perform an encore, and she and Luke finally connect romantically. They haven’t had much genuine interaction, but by this point, deep character development isn’t really expected.
Whatever, the song is catchy at least. Afterward, Katie lands a record deal, and everyone has a celebratory chat. Roll credits. …Wow, that was one of the most rushed endings I’ve seen in a while.
Oh wait, there’s a mid-credits scene that appears so abruptly it feels like it should have been placed before the credits rolled. Gail wakes up, and delivers one final funny line:
“So Bev can’t sing, that didn’t stop Jessica Simpson!”
Nice pop culture jab. Bev then tells her mom to “give it a rest,” and that’s how the movie concludes. It’s a shame Bev didn’t get a more substantial moment of her own, but Victor the menace was apparently a higher priority.
Final Thoughts:
Once Upon a Song is an odd entry compared to the other Cinderella Story movies. I’d argue it’s weaker in terms of narrative substance, feeling somewhat hollow with not a lot actually happening. It hits the expected plot points, but doesn’t strive for much beyond that, unlike even the first film which attempted to add a bit more depth.
It also feels less connected to the Cinderella fairytale, making its inclusion in the franchise a bit tenuous. It’s riddled with missed opportunities, and the reason for Luke’s prolonged obliviousness is incredibly contrived.
However, its flaws are less irritating than in other movies in the series, and it ends up being far more enjoyable. It’s more eccentric, with elements like the Bollywood dance number and the surprisingly non-PG language sprinkled throughout.
And as is typical with these films, the acting is generally decent, with the lead actress being quite charming. The shortcomings are less bothersome, and there’s a level of ironic enjoyment to be derived from its oddities.
It becomes a bit lackluster in the second half, but it’s still not as grating as the previous installment, at least in my opinion. It’s as light and fluffy as its predecessors, but less irritating and more amusing.
So yeah, I’d tentatively recommend watch a cinderella story: once upon a song if you’re looking for some light, ironically enjoyable viewing. It’s not a top-tier ironically enjoyable movie, but it’s watchable.
I’m actually finding this series increasingly interesting from a review perspective. It’s becoming my Swan Princess 5 – I’m now genuinely curious about the next one. It stars Sofia Carson, which already piques my interest.
But for now, Once Upon a Song lands in the realm of interesting and ironically enjoyable.
Rating: Meh
This was a mild surprise in a positive way. But enough of these “meh” movies, let’s see a poster for a truly awful film for the next review.
Promotional poster for the movie “Yoga Hosers”, hinting at a vastly different and potentially less enjoyable cinematic experience for the reviewer’s next critique.
…Oof, that one looks like it’s going to be… an experience.
See ya.
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