My Husband Picked This Movie

We don't get as much TV time together as either of us would like, so when we sat down last night to watch something, I expected Hubs to suggest the new season of Stranger Things or The Boys. Instead, he really wanted to watch Sneakerella, a gender-swapped reinterpretation of Cinderella on Disney+ that featured a lot of choreographed dance scenes, and you know what, that's why I love him.

El (Chosen Jacobs) is a young sneakerhead living in Queens with his distracted stepfather and jerky stepbrothers. Waiting in line for a new shoe-drop, he meets a beautiful young woman named Kira (Lexi Underwood) and they spend a magical afternoon together. She doesn't tell him that she's the daughter of Darius King, sneaker magnate, or that she's looking for a new shoe designer that will revolutionize her father's designs. El has a chance at being that designer, but only if he can overcome his insecurities and show Kira who he really is.

I'm a sucker for a fairytale retelling, and I thought this one was very fun and inventive. There's a lot of fun twists on the standard Cinderella beats, like making the pumpkin coach a Cadillac and having El make a custom shoe instead of a gown. The "El loses his shoe" sequence was particularly clever. But I was here for the singing and dancing, and the first couple of musical numbers really scratched that itch. If you're wondering, "is there a breakdancing sequence on the subway," you bet your buttons there is. Some of the numbers from the latter half of the movie weren't as exciting, and they could have been trimmed down quite a bit. In what world does a movie with this premise need to be almost two hours long? It should have been a tight 90 minutes. But overall, Hubs and I both enjoyed this goofy little movie. Perfect casual watching for family movie night.

What’s your favorite Cinderella retelling? Let me know at lilycahillwrites@gmail.com.