Today is the anniversary of my first date with my lovely wife and as I settle down to watch my next movie, I’m feeling a little unwell after overindulging in a delicious cheese feast. I’m feeling queasy as the opening credits roll on Love On the Slopes, a 2018 effort about romance at a ski resort, but that’s not all that feels wrong. About 15 minutes into this tale of a journalist who falls for an extreme sports photographer I quickly realise that this isn’t a Christmas film at all, with no mention of the festive season anywhere. Snow alone does not equal Christmas. Disqualified!
I swiftly make up for that error with A Cinderella Christmas, from 2016 featuring Emma Rigby of TV’s Hollyoaks fame. When a film has ‘Cinderella’ in the title, it gives a pretty good indication of what you’re getting and this modern update of the classic fairytale delivers the easiest of easy watches. Rigby is Angie, a lonely, put-upon young woman working hard to run her uncle’s business while her spoiled, brattish cousin Candace (Sarah Stouffer) takes all the credit. Taking her cousin’s place at a Christmas masquerade ball, Angie meets wealthy playboy Nikolaus (Peter Porte) who’s, somewhat unfairly, been told he must soon marry to keep his inheritance.
It's one of those daft stories where, because the characters once wore masks for a few hours, they’re completely unable to recognise the person they chatted to and fell in love with, even though they’re right in front of them. Kind of like the whole Clark Kent/Superman glasses deal.
However, this puts a smart spin on the Cinderella tale, by having the ball take place in the first 30 minutes, then spending the rest of the story on the ‘hunt’ for the woman who’s captured this ‘prince’s’ heart. He even announces on TV that when this mystery girl comes forward, he will marry her, which I found both completely mental and really rather presumptuous.
Plot contrivances lead to Angie being employed by Nik to help plan his wedding, without his realising who she is. What’s more novel is that, without the masks on, these two spend most of the film hating each other. It’s mildly fascinating and fun, with Rigby doing an enjoyable sort of dual performance, transforming from neurotic basket case to ultra-confident babe when the mask goes on.
Traditionally, Cinderella tales have been about the handsome hero saving the poor, desperate girl in need of a way out. Here, Angie is allowed to be an independent, intelligent woman who can make her own choices. She even tries to convince Nik that it was bitchy Candace behind the mask, so that she might swoop in and inherit her cousin’s business. Nik really starts to second guess the whole TV proposal thing as he spends some time with this horrible cow. I wasn’t expecting this level of comedy and complexity, though of course love wins through in the end.
If I have one complaint, it’s that this barely feels like a Christmas film at all. Though the Christmas ball is the catalyst for romantic pandemonium, there’s very little other mention of the festive season. However, this is still smart, first-rate feel-good stuff.
Comments