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How to Share Your Faith Using A Cinderella Story

WARNING: This review contains spoilers. (But, it is the story of Cinderella, so is it really going to spoil the ending?)

There have been plenty of take-offs of the story of Cinderella over the years. Some have been good and some have been…well…

The latest spin-off, appropriately named A Cinderella Story, stars Hilary Duff as the oppressed, step-daughter named Sam who is forced to be at the beck and call of her selfish, overly-tanned stepmother Fiona (Jennifer Coolidge) and her cruel, yet ditzy, stepsisters. After Sam’s dad marries Fiona, he dies in a California earthquake, setting into motion the story of the princess, turned servant, turned princess.

The movie is refreshingly original, while maintaining the quality of the story of Cinderella. Sam “meets” Prince Charming in a Princeton (get it?) University chat room and finds out that they go to the same school. After many online conversations and numerous text messages, they decide to meet at the school’s Halloween Ball. Sam barely makes it in time to find out that her PC is none other than Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murray), aka Mr. Popular, senior quarterback, boyfriend of the head cheerleader, etc. They talk, walk, and dance for a while, but Ames can never figure out who she is because of a gala mask that covers about 20% of her face. (He must need some serious glasses.)

At 15 minutes to 12, Sam has to run away, but she drops something behind and Austin finds it. A glass slipper? C’mon, this is the 21st century! Sam drops her cell phone and Austin finds it, but he doesn’t put it to much use. What occurs after, you can probably guess, because this is, after all, A Cinderella Story.

The movie has some negative aspects, but is very clean compared to most teen movies of today. There are some revealing costumes at the Halloween party, a few girls are shown in bikini swimsuits, and the cheerleaders’ outfits are a little showy. Thankfully, however, the camera doesn’t linger, but moves on quickly. The youth in the movie tend to be a little irreverent of adults, but not nearly as bad as normally portrayed in movies. Most of the other negative aspects are typical stereotypes of teen movies.

The moral of the story is a great one, although from a Christian standpoint it needs one more addition. The story’s message is to be yourself, rather than trying to be what everyone else wants you to be or thinks you should be. This is a good message to a certain extent. As Christians, we should be aware of what others think, but should not conform to what the world thinks is right or wrong. We should strive to live as Christ would and be who God has planned for us to be. God has created each of us uniquely and given us different gifts, and his desire is for us to fulfill his plan for us, not go along with what outside influences think in order to be accepted.

So, how can you use this movie to witness to friends? Here are some ideas:

  1. Many people, especially teenagers, feel burdened and pressured by the outside world to conform and be like everyone else in order to be accepted. Most teens who are trying to change who they are in order to be “cool” are not happy with who they have become. Show them the love of Christ, and talk with them about how God loves them for who they are, not who they should be. If they will trust in him, he will help them become who he has made them. They won’t have to conform to a worldly standard, because God will be helping them live up to his standard.
  2. Teens sometimes find it hard to believe in God because their view of “God the Father” is that he will be just like their dad, and their dad is not a good person. He may abuse them, or never be around, or simply ignore them. They may be able to relate to the oppression and ill-treatment that Sam has to undergo at the hand of her stepmother and stepsister. Relate to them that God is not like our earthly parents, who can fail us, because God is perfect and his only option is loving us. He loves us, wants us to be his children, and he wants to care for us throughout our lives.
  3. Both of these ideas are perfect lead-ins to a Gospel Presentation. You can say something like: “Do you ever feel pressured to be something, or someone, you’re not? Can I tell you about someone who loves you exactly how you are?” If your friend has a bad home life you could say something like: “I realize you have a tough life at home with your parents. Can I tell you about the one who will love you always, will never abuse you, and wants you to be a part of his family forever?”
  4. Be sure and check out the Gospel Journey on the Dare 2 Share website so that you will be prepared and ready to present the truth of Jesus Christ.