Cinderella in the Caribbean

7.8 stars.

A million Cinderella movies and this is the first one I recall taking place in the Caribbean, but I bet it's not the only one.

It starts off with Ashlyn, a young woman in college studying to be a teacher. An older woman visits her, we don't know who this woman is at first, but she's snobbish and rude to our pretty protagonist. We soon find out she's the stepmother, stopping by unannounced to invite her to a last minute wedding in the Caribbean. She is marrying some guy that Ashlyn has never been told about. It's one of the many ways stepmom has precluded her from their lives and mistreated her throughout the years. She obviously has a hidden agenda.

They arrive in the Caribbean and meet up with her fiance and his son in a nice resort destination. They are staying in a very ritzy beach house for the week, leading up to the wedding. We also get to meet her stepbrother and stepsister. They are real peaches.

I laughed quite a few times, there are funny moments, not super hilarious, but really quick bouts of laughter at the antics of evil sister and brother. They are both openly disdainful and petty, like two five year olds who didn't get dessert. The way the characters are portrayed was humorous. The bad stepsister is tripping over herself to get the attention of her new step-brother, whom she is crushing on....ewwww....and the mopy stepbrother acts as if everyone is a bore or an irritation.

If for nothing else, watch this movie for their quirks. The new dad is a likable person, and his son is a very charismatic and good looking young man. We all know that eventually he and Ashlyn will fall in love. But first, she must play the Cinderella role and he must swoop in to rescue her from this mixed family fiasco.

Like I said, this was better than expected. I suggest you give it a shot.

Cinderella in the Caribbean is a blend of fantasy meets romance, good vs not-so-good and the entitled receiving their comeuppance.

Ashlyn, portrayed by Emma Reinagel, is a hard working student living stateside and supporting herself toward her college degree.

Out of the blue, enter her "evil" stepmother, Miriam, who announces she's getting married again in one week and insists Ashlyn drop everything and come be present at her destination wedding.

Ashlyn quickly finds out that the invitation was not extended because of motherly-love, but because Miriam's fiancé (Bruce) is insisting that Ashlyn join them at their rented villa in the Caribbean for family bonding during the nuptial preparations.

Next we meet the evil step children, a step-sister (Fiona) and a step-brother (Jerry) both playing their parts admirably. Their animosity and jealousy toward Ashlyn only get worse as the week progresses.

Then we meet Bruce's son, Noah. The kind-hearted and cute Noah (portrayed by romance new-comer Conor McGee) senses immediately that there is something off about his new, happy family.

Miriam has a motive for marrying Bruce, and I'm here to tell ya it's not for love. She's about to find out that wealthy, good guy Bruce is no fool.

Kudos to writer/actress Brittany Wiscombe for not only this contemporary take on an old tale, but spinning the same trope in her 2018 adaptation "Not Cinderella's Type," also a good watch.

So, my verdict on the Caribbean version?

IMDB gives Cinderella in the Caribbean a rating of 6.3. I think it deserves a higher rating of 7.5 and a place in your plans for a don't-bother-me weekend escape.

I feel like the ratings are too low for this movie. C'mon guys, it's really not that bad. It's a feel-good movie - yeah, the plot is super predictable, and you can tell the production value isn't the best for its budget - but it still leaves a sweet taste in your mouth at the end. First, I cringed at those dialogues. I mean, it honestly felt like watching Indian serials at times, but somehow it came off as realistic and not too forced. I also liked how they cancelled the stepmom's wedding - glad Noah's dad didn't go ahead with it. It wasn't too overdramatic. And also, the actor was so beautiful. Overall, I'd give it a solid 7.8.

I know, I know, this movie has all the makings of a crappy, rehashed plot, Hallmark movie. But for me, it was very watchable because of the lead actress, Emma Reinagel. Really, can you expect anything serious with the name Cinderella in the title? So just go with it have some semi-mindless fun. Like I wrote, I enjoyed the interactions, even if they were cheesy at best. Perhaps I also gave it good marks as I hate most movies out today and just wanted to watch and relax at dinner time. This fit the bill perfectly. Is watching a delightful, pretty woman ever a waste? No, I say! And if you haven't caught on by now, I agree that the movie plot isn't actually strong enough to comment on much, but I have to satisfy the word limit. Enjoy it!

I know they were going for the Cinderella fairy tale vibe, but it was ridiculous to watch. People aren't like this. All of the good characters are flawless, while all of the bad characters are over the top wicked. It's essentially nonsense.

I'm not sure how someone could enjoy watching this. You spend most of the movie just wanting Cinderella to stand up for herself. It's frustrating.

Again, I know that they specifically wanted to copy Cinderella, but it could have been so much more interesting had they been more subtle (and human) with the character portrayals. Instead, this simply annoys and insults the audience with a relentless lack of realism.