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Ever After (known in promotional material as Ever After: A Cinderella Story) is a 1998 American Romance film historical drama film directed by Andy Tennant from his own screenplay, co-written by Susannah Grant and Rick Parks. Co-produced by Fox Family Films and Mireille Soria Production, the film is inspired by Charles Perrault's 1697 fairy tale Cinderella and stars Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston, with Dougray Scott and Jeanne Moreau in supporting roles.
The film removes the pantomime and supernatural elements commonly found in retellings of the Cinderella tale and instead treats the story as historical fiction, setting it in Renaissance-era France.
Ever After released in theaters on July 31, 1998, to positive reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $98 million.
During the French Renaissance, ten years after Auguste de Barbarac dies, his daughter, Danielle, has been forced to become a servant to her stepmother, the Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent, and stepsisters, Marguerite and Jacqueline. At first mistaking him for a thief, Danielle has an unexpected confrontation with Prince Henry as he is attempting to flee in order to avoid an arranged marriage to Princess Gabriella of Spain. Henry gives Danielle 20 francs to keep their interlude secret. He is eventually caught by the Royal Guard after stopping bandits from robbing Leonardo da Vinci, whom King Francis has invited to the Royal court.
Danielle disguises herself as a noblewoman and uses Henry's bribe to go to the palace to buy back her friend Maurice, whom Rodmilla plans to ship to the Americas. Henry witnesses her arguing with the jailer and impressed by Danielle's passion and intelligence, orders the jailer to release Maurice. When he asks for her name, Danielle gives her late mother's name, Countess Nicole de Lancret. King Francis agrees to hold a masquerade ball at which Henry will announce his engagement to the woman of his choosing at midnight, or else King Francis will announce his marriage to Gabriella. Rodmilla accelerates her efforts at getting Henry to notice Marguerite, while being neglectful to Jacqueline. Meanwhile, Danielle begins secretly spending time with Henry. After an outing at the library of the Monk, a gang of gypsies ambushes them, but they offer to help them when Danielle bids the leader and attempts to carry Henry away. At the gypsy camp, they share their first kiss.
Rodmilla and Marguerite plan to steal Nicole's wedding gown and glass slippers for Marguerite to wear at the ball. When Marguerite insults Nicole, Danielle attacks and chases her. Marguerite retaliates by burning the copy of Utopia that Auguste had given to Danielle. Jacqueline shows sympathy towards Danielle and criticizes Marguerite for her cruelty.
Queen Marie holds a luncheon with Marguerite and Rodmilla, during which the two deduce that Danielle is Countess de Lancret. Danielle meets Henry, who reveals that she has inspired him to build a university. Unable to reveal the truth about her identity, she flees. Rodmilla confronts Danielle about her deception and locks her in the pantry when she does not reveal the whereabouts of the slippers and dress. Gustave does Maurice a favor by going to the ball to recruit Leonardo to help Danielle escape. Leonardo, Gustave, Paulette and Louise prepare Danielle in Nicole's attire which they kept hidden prior. Danielle arrives determined to tell Henry the truth, but Rodmilla exposes her. Furious, Henry rejects Danielle, causing her to tearfully flee while Leonardo witnesses her lose a slipper. Leonardo reproaches Henry for his callousness and leaves him the slipper.
Henry agrees to marry Gabriella. During the ceremony, however, realizing that she also loves someone else who's in attendance, he calls off the wedding and seeks out Danielle until Maurice and Jacqueline inform him that Rodmilla sold her to Pierre Le Pieu following the ball. Henry and Laurent set off to rescue Danielle, only to find that she has freed herself. Henry professes his love for her, and proposes marriage by fitting the slipper onto her foot. Danielle happily accepts.
The royal court summons Rodmilla, Marguerite and Jacqueline. As punishment for lying to Marie about Danielle, Rodmilla is stripped of her title and threatened with exile to the Americas alongside Marguerite unless someone speaks for her. Danielle appears and instead asks that Rodmilla be shown the same "courtesy" she had shown her. Rodmilla and Marguerite are reduced to servants in the palace laundry.
Danielle and Henry built a university until it was presumably destroyed during the French Revolution except for Danielle's portrait Leonardo painted. The Grande Dame emphasizes that while her great-great-grandparents did live happily ever after, the point is that they lived.
Patrick Godfrey's wife Amanda Walker appears as an old noblewoman.
Though the main portion of the film takes place in early 1500s France, the royals shown are most likely not meant to be the historical figures for which they are named. King Francis I summoned Leonardo da Vinci to his court around 1516, three years before King Henry II was born; neither of King Francis I's wives was named Marie (the first was named Claude and the second Eleanor). King Henry II was married to Catherine de' Medici at the age of 14.
On April 11, 2003, the film was released on DVD with the movie Never Been Kissed—another film starring Drew Barrymore—in a combo pack. On May 26, 2006, the film was released in The Drew Barrymore Collection Celebrity Pack, which also contained DVDs of Never Been Kissed and Fever Pitch. On March 2, 2010, the film was released in a DVD combo pack with the movie An Affair to Remember—a double feature celebrating 20th Century Fox's 75th anniversary; two months later, the film was then released in a DVD combo pack on May 4, 2010, with the movies Anna and the King and Australia—a triple feature celebrating the same thing.
On January 4, 2011, the film was released on Blu-ray Disc. On September 4, 2012, it was released with the movie Never Been Kissed in a combo pack on Blu-ray. On October 7, 2014, the film was released in a 4 Drew Barrymore Favorites DVD set with Never Been Kissed, Fever Pitch, and Whip It.
On January 6, 2015, the film was released in a Blu-ray / Digital copy combo pack, region-free. The film was also released on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2018. Then, on January 1, 2019, the film was again released in a Blu-ray / Digital HD combo pack but for Region A.
Roger Ebert from Chicago Sun-Times awarded the film three out of four stars and wrote: "I went to the screening expecting some sort of soppy children's picture and found myself in a costume romance with some of the same energy and zest as The Mask of Zorro." He particularly praised the cinematography, costume design, and Drew Barrymore's acting. In his review for San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle called Ever After "the best Cinderella movie ever," complimenting both the character writing and the performances of Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, and Dougray Scott. Leonard Klady of Variety gave a positive review, stating that the film "successfully maintains the story's period trappings while introducing a heroine with modern resonance… One can quibble only about a languorous style and a tendency to overplay the villainy of the stepmother and her eldest daughter. But these are small glitches in an otherwise first-rate effort." Robin Grant wrote for The Lantern that although Ever After "is worth seeing just for the scenery, the updated storyline and good acting make it an excellent movie for young and old alike."
In her review for The Austin Chronicle, Marjorie Baumgarten gave the film three out of five stars, stating that Ever After "turns out to be a potent and imaginative retelling that proves Cinderella's timelessness defies carbon-dating." Lisa Schwarzbaum from Entertainment Weekly awarded the film a "B−" and described it as "unwieldy, uneven, but nevertheless unexpectedly witty, girl-positive production," while praising the character writing, costume design, and performances by Barrymore, Huston, and Judy Parfitt. Ian Nathan of Empire gave the film three out of five stars, complimenting the cinematography and acting of Huston and Scott, but criticizing the script and Barrymore's performance, which he found unconvincing and "far from her best."
A Time Out reviewer wrote that Barrymore "manages just fine in carrying this Cinderella update… Given that this is adolescent romance, never straying far from traditional stereotypes, its 'progressive' feel-good aura is mainly down to Barrymore, whose limitations are only exposed in big love scenes." Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times highlighted Barrymore and Huston's performances, but was displeased with the script and the "inconsistent" tone of the film, concluding that "though it has its moments, Ever After never completely finds its footing, either in its century or our own." In his review for The New York Times, Stephen Holden called the film a "bland, sappy costume comedy," criticizing its script and George Fenton's musical score; however, he praised Barrymore's "buoyant, unaffected" acting, which he considered the best thing about the film.
| Favorite Actor – Newcomer | Dougray Scott | |
| Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama/Romance | Anjelica Huston | |
| Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Picture | Mireille Soria, Tracey Trench | |
| Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Actress | Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston | |
| Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Ensemble | Ever After | |
| Best Music, Original Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Score | George Fenton | |
| Best Supporting Actress | Anjelica Huston | |
| Best Costumes | Jenny Beavan | |
| Best Music | George Fenton | |
| Choice Movie Sleazebag | Anjelica Huston | |
| Choice Movie Breakout | Dougray Scott |
A workshop of the musical was held from April 25, 2013 – May 15, 2013 with Sierra Boggess as Danielle, Jeremy Jordan as Prince Henry, and Ashley Spencer as Marguerite. The musical made its world premiere at the Paper Mill Playhouse from May 21, 2015 – June 21, 2015. Christine Ebersole played the role of Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent. Alongside Ebersole, Margo Seibert starred as Danielle, James Snyder as Henry, Charles Shaughnessy as King Francis, and Tony Sheldon as Leonardo da Vinci. Another production of the musical played at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre from January 15, 2019, to February 19. The production was directed by Susan V. Booth and starred Sierra Boggess as Danielle de Barbarac, Terry Burrell as Queen Marie, Todd Buonopane as Captain Laurent, David Garrison as Leonardo da Vinci, Chris Kayser as King Francis, Jeff McCarthy as Pierre Malette, Tim Rogan as Prince Henry and Rachel York as Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent.
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