Ever After: A Cinderella Story--Drew Barrymore is Enchanting!

Introduction

I never used to be a Drew Barrymore fan. When I heard about a Cinderella story being made that starred Drew Barrymore I decided to pass.

Even after this movie got good reviews from some friends I was still unwilling to see it.

When the movie reached home video I still had no desire to see it.

One night my mother-in-law bought the movie and brought it over to my house to watch while babysitting for my husband and I. We got home before the movie was over and I ended up watching the very end of it. Within a few moments all I could think about was how foolish I had been to wait.

Ever After is now one of my favorite movies, and Drew Barrymore one of my favorite actresses.

The Story

This movie loosely follows the story of Cinderella, a timeless classic that almost everyone has grown up hearing. It has everything a viewer could want.

You'll find the beautiful, mistreated heroine; the wicked step mother and sister (with the nicely added touch of a lovable step sister); and the handsome prince who in the end saves the day. Along the way there are friends who help them out, including Leonardo DiVinci.

The movie is started and finished in the home of a royal French woman speaking to the Brother Grimm. She tells them that she likes there stories but that their version of the "cinder" girl is a little off.

The "real" story starts out when Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is eight years old and her father has just remarried the Countess DeGant (Anjelica Huston), who has two daughters. After only two weeks Danielle's father dies. The death is tragic for Danielle, and causes the Countess' hatred of her. When Danielle's father dies his last words are only for Danielle. He says nothing to his new wife. This causes the bitter jealously and hatred that the Countess shows throughout the rest of the movie.

After the father's death it jumps ahead in time ten years, and Danielle is grown. She works almost as a slave on her father's once profitable farm, which the Countess has run into the ground. Danielle's only true friends are the servants who used to work under her father and a buy named Gustav.

Danielle, dressed in her usual clothing, meets the prince of France, Henry, when he tried to escape the palace and takes a horse from her farm. She throws apples at his head, hitting him more than once, before she recognizes him as the prince. He never gets a good look at her. He tosses her some gold coins and says that he wants her not to mention this to anyone.

She has another chance meeting with the prince when she is disguised as a noble woman attempting to buy back a servant the Countess has sold to pay off her debts. The Prince is intrigued because she is unlike anyone he's ever met.

Danielle and Henry spend time together in secret, falling more and more deeply in love. Danielle claims not to live in the area and has assumed her late mother's name to keep the prince from knowing her true identity.

The King is pushing Henry to marry and settle down, and says he will throw a masquerade ball. On that night Henry will either select a bride of his own, or his father will follow through with a marriage treaty with the daughter of the Kind of Spain.

The Countess takes a dress that belonged to Danielle's mother and gives it to her spoiled, selfish daughter to wear to the ball. Danielle discovers this and hides the dress. Then the Countess discovers Danielle has been spending time with Henry, whom she wanted for her daughter, and imprisons her in their pantry.

To make a long story short, Gustav retrieves Leonardo DiVinci who then helps them get Danielle out of the cellar and to the ball. Just as the King is about to announce that Henry will marry the Princess of Spain, Henry spies Danielle in her mother's gown and glass slippers. He halts the announcement.

The Countess causes a scene and reveals Danielle's true identity to Henry. He feels betrayed by Danielle for her lies and sends her away.

After the ball the Countess sells Danielle to a neighboring nobleman who wants her as for personal uses, so to speak.

The ever strong Danielle frees herself from him just as the Prince, who has left his own wedding to the Princess of Spain after realizing his true feelings for Danielle, comes to rescue her.

Since it is a Cinderella story, you can rest assured that Danielle and Henry end up married. How the writers bring this about is wonderful, and surprising enough that I won't spoil this for you.

The last scene shows the Brothers Grimm with the French noble woman again, proving the validity of her story by producing one of Danielle's glass slippers.

Final Thoughts and Recommendation

I have borrowed this movie from my mother-in-law many times, and would estimate that I have viewed it at least 30 times. I still put it on on a quiet day when there's nothing good on television. It makes me smile, and I like that in a movie.

I also want to make mention of the costumes worn in this film. The dresses, particularly those of the nobility, were very beautiful. The men's costumes were also quite detailed. Costuming is a huge part of the enjoyment of a period film, at least to me.

I would recommend this movie for anyone who is a hopeless romantic, loves to see the underdog triumph, or who loves period films.