MOVIE REVIEWS Kids: Cinderella 2021 Parents: Worth

Family Movie Night Chase Your Dream

BY BONNIE L. HARRIS

EVERY FEW YEARS, HOLLYWOOD reinvents the Cinderella story and now it’s Amazon’s turn to launch a completely unconventional, multi-cultural musical that’s heavy on the feminism and steeped in fashionista style. Despite hearing mixed reviews, I was intrigued by the trailer, and thoroughly charmed by the movie. Cinderella 2021, starring the effervescent Camila Cabello, dances to its own Top 100 hits with a quirky, funny, & fresh story, unique new characters, and a soundtrack that’ll keep you humming. And we absolutely need a shout out to the costume designer, the incomparable Ellen Mirojnick, who’s been a movie icon since the mid-1980’s. But our Cinderella starts out in rags and dreams of owning a dress shop where she can design beautiful gowns to her heart’s content. Unfortunately, her unhappy stepmother and jealous stepsisters focus only on finding husbands. Our handsome Prince, who’s a great disappointment to the King, struggles to find a purpose until he accidentally meets Ella trying to sell one of her dresses. He invites her to the upcoming ball, but as we already know, Ella’s stepmother stands firmly in her way. Enter a Fabulous Godmother played by cross-dressing Billy Porter and suddenly Ella has a chance to find her true love. She sings and dances her way to the ball with her three hilarious mice as footmen, then she sings and dances into the Prince’s heart. But Ella decides her career comes first and she turns down the Prince’s marriage proposal, then runs as the clock strikes midnight. The frustrated King berates the broken-hearted Prince, but Queen Beatrice steps in to help the romance along and upend the irksome patriarchy. Ella and the Prince live happily ever after, but there’s definitely room for a sequel, and I for one can’t wait. Pop some popcorn and enjoy! ✦

CINDERELLA 2021

Amazon Studios, Rated: PG Streaming on Amazon Ella designs & creates.

FOR the PARENTS

Not About Money

WORTH MadRiver Pictures, Rated: PG-13 Streaming on Netflix

SOME EVENTS NEVER lose their ability to evoke the tragic feelings of the moment. Netflix’s new feature, Worth, takes us back to the horrific morning of 9/11 and the true story of the man tasked with saving America’s economy in the wake of potential lawsuits against U. S. airlines. It’s a tricky topic because it’s about the price we put on life, on an individual’s earning capacity, and on thousands of lost futures. Worth follows master arbitrator Kenneth Feinberg, who manages the Victim Compensation Fund and tries to reason with the emotionally distraught families of 9/11. His loudest critic, Charles Wolf, works tirelessly to make Feinberg understand that each unique life cannot fit into an insurance algorithm. After finally reaching his breaking point, Feinberg begins listening to the stories of loss, each more heart-wrenching than the last, until he finally tosses out the rulebook. It’s not an easy film to watch because the intertwining stories, the overlapping footage, and the devastating audio recordings, even fictionalized, evoke those long buried emotions from that September morning. Worth is truly one of the best dramas of the year with superb actors and top-notch writing that grips you from the first minute to the memorial epilogue.

Ken & Charles argue over costs.