Zima with Dreamy 'Cinderella'

Magic, fairytales, beautiful people and dreams all come to mind when I hear the word Cinderella. I also think back to that timeless Disney animated tale of the same name that mesmerized me when I was just a wee child.

Put a new spin on the subject and jump ahead to modern times. The new "Cinderella" isn't a cartoon, and there's no horse and carriage to be whisked off in. But there are fairy godmothers, and dreams can still come true.

The movie starts off with a little girl and her father celebrating life together. Life is one big happy time for Sam Montgomery (Hillary Duff), until her dad takes a new wife. The evil stepmother is Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge) and the evil stepsisters are Brianna (Madeline Zima) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery).

All's fine in Sam's land until her father dies in the Northridge earthquake. Not leaving a will, the girl is forced to live with her stepmother.

The wicked step-mother who is into plastic surgery, Botox, and tanning beds, banishes Sam to the attic and forces her to work at her dad's nifty '50s diner if she wants to earn her way into college.

Sam meanwhile is into text messaging and chat rooms with Prince Charming. She doesn't know who he is but plans on meeting him at the big school dance.
Sam is not popular with the cool kids and hangs around with her geeky fried Carter (Dan Byrd). Pretty as she is, she must endure insulting names such as "Diner Girl" from the oh-so-in crowd.

However, what she doesn't realize is that her time chatting on the computer and text messaging is spent with one of the coolest guys going, who is also the football captain.

There are some very funny scenes and some cruel ones. For what would "Cinderella" be without them.

Young girls will want to see this movie and will enjoy it with their mom or friends. It will certainly play well to Hillary Duff fans.

The toughest scenario it faces is opening the same weekend as "I, Robot," starring Will Smith. He's a tough act to follow. But then again we're talking about two different type of audiences.●