Ever After

Okay, so I'm not usually one to watch a lot of chick flicks...in fact, I didn't even realize that I owned so many chick flicks until Sheila started going through my movies and pulling them out to watch. Don't worry, this whole blog is NOT going to be all chick flicks...I'd go crazy before I'd come anywhere near finishing this crazy project. I suddenly feel the need to go watch the "Die Hard" series, or "Mission Impossible" or something!


Genre: Comedy, drama, romance and remake
Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for momentary strong language
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Angelica Huston, Dougray Scott, Patrick Godfrey, Megan Dodds
Synopsis: In a re-telling of one of our most beloved tales, a resourceful young woman must overcome the schemes of her evil stepmother to be with the one she loves -- the Prince of France -- who has fallen for her beauty and intelligence. With the ingenuity of Leonardo Di Vinci and the strength of love, the young woman realizes that the Cinderella stories can come true.


Yes, I know, I know...I picked "Cinderella"...how terrible of me! So, fairy tale aside, this movie actually has some really good themes to it. In fact, I had to remind myself of my two primary rules (see "Julie & Julia"), because I was finding multiple Christian messages in this movie! But it wasn't until the very end, that one stood out far above all the others.


Maybe it's because I'm currently reading Philip Yancey's "Whats So Amazing About Grace?" for a class, but this movie is a wonderful portrayal of the world's sense of "ungrace" and God's unbelievable grace. Just about every character is seeking for or working toward attaining something. This is the idea of "ungrace" - the opposite of grace. The idea of grace is being given a gift regardless of whether or not you deserve it. So, how does the story of "Cinderella" show grace? There are two very clear scenes in the movie that portray grace in a fantastic way.


[WARNING: Spoiler Alert...if you haven't yet seen this movie...you may not want to read this one!]


The first scene is near the end, just after Danielle (Drew Barrymore) escapes from the wretched Monsieur Pierre Le Pieu. Danielle walks out of Le Pieu's "house" (and I use that term lightly) to see her "Prince Charming" riding up to save the day. For those of you who have seen this movie, you'll remember that previously, Prince Henry (Dougray Scott) had humiliated and rejected Danielle because she was a commoner and not of noble birth. So here he is, suddenly back on the scene and determined to save her. So Henry pours out his heart to Danielle, asking for her forgiveness. All young women out there who have ever had their hearts broken by stupid men will agree with me when I say: Henry doesn't deserve it! And that's why this is such a tremendous picture of grace...Danielle has every right to hate Henry and to turn him away for what he did to her, yet she forgives him! Now that's grace!


The second scene is almost immediately following the first one, when Danielle's step-mother (Rodmilla) and step-sisters (Marguerite and Jacqueline) are summoned before the king. A little background, Rodmilla (Angelica Huston) has spent the entire movie trying to marry Marguerite off to Henry, and is in fact the one who orchestrated Danielle being humiliated. So after the first scene, Danielle and Henry get married and Rodmilla and Marguerite are summoned before the king to answer for a lie she told to the queen. The two are stripped of their nobility and are going to be sent to the Americas unless someone will speak for them...which no one will...until Danielle walks in. You guessed it...after spending the previous 10 years treating Danielle as nothing better than a servant, Rodmilla deserved to be sent to the Americas. Instead, Danielle shows her grace.