it's not a bad thing to update old stories . it's done all the time in the oral tradition . the difficulty with this film is not that the tale has changed , it's that it's dry . the new cinderella , danielle ( drew barrymore ) is not sitting around waiting for her prince to come . she's a woman of the late twentieth century albeit situated in sixteenth century france . when her father dies , she stays on in his house even though she is mistreated by her wicked stepmother rodmilla ( anjelica huston ) . she works by day , but reads sir thomas more by firelight at night . although the story is updated , you know the plot . danielle meets prince henry ( dougray scott ) , goes to a ball disguised , is later found out and they live happily ever after . the movie is often like watching a filmed play . theater in real life is engrossing . theater on the screen is usually lifeless . there doesn't seem to be much going on . the camera can be a star of films . here it's a co-conspirator . danielle's convictions are compromised . a socialist and a feminist , she pretends to be royalty to get her man . a kind woman , her last act in the movie is one of revenge . the most enjoyable characters are the most cartoonish . the fairy godmother stand-in , leonardo da vinci ( patrick godfrey ) is fun to watch as the eccentric old man who advises danielle . huston is enjoyable in her over-the-top wickedness . in all fairness , my companion loved the film . maybe it's one of those " chick flicks " that men don't like . it is certainly a date film . nearly the entire audience was couples . oh well , maybe it's good for something . ( michael redman has written this column for over 23 years and should have known that his run of enjoyable summer films was bound to end sometime . email your retro-fitted legends to <a href= " mailto : redman@bvoice . com " >redman@bvoice . com</a> ) [this appeared in the 8/6/98 " bloomington voice " , bloomington , indiana . michael redman can be contacted at <a href= " mailto : redman@bvoice . com " >redman@bvoice . com</a>] -- <a href= " mailto : mailto : redman@bvoice . com " >mailto : redman@bvoice . com</a> this week's film review at <a href= " http : //www . bvoice . com/ " >http : //www . bvoice . com/</a> film reviews archive at <a href= " http : //us . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? michael%20redman " >http : //us . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? michael%20redman</a> 
