ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series) Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale (1985) User Reviews

She rode away with the prince on a white horse!

[Carrie90210 · 6/10 · 3 June 2005]

She rode away with the prince on a white horse! Only recently did I get to see the second part to the '85 ABC After School Special. God I was addicted to those back in the day, and it didn't fail to feed my childhood flights of high school fancy as I saw Kyra (then 20) sail down the steps to meet her over-the-top friendly faced stepmother in an empire waist white lace dress. The script cornball and predictable but she and Grant certainly stole the Show at the end! She and the late Pearl Bailey play off to one another so well, since the real star was the street smart Fairy Godmother/Bag Lady. "You know my late husband ate potato chips!" And Grant Show was an effective showpiece as Gregory Matthew Drewery Prince III, but he simply wasn't believable as he showered the demure but artistically gifted Cindy so much attention while out riding his horse, Royal (what a surprise), versus the half emaciated gruesome twosome Liza and Laura so gregariously fawning over him on the joggers' path in Central Park where a more horrific scene was played out not too long after the taping. There could have been more interaction between the prince and Cindy (perhaps at school) but since the ABC ASP series is coming to DVD I can't wait to hear the commentaries!

Cinderella 80's and Afterschool Style

[shelbythuylinh · 8/10 · 15 December 2021]

Well Kyra Sedgwick, Grant Show, Jennifer Grey, the late Pearl Bailey what can go on in the updating version of the Cinderella story there.

As the poor homeless woman played with hilariousness by Bailey is indeed a fairy godmother in disguise. As Cindy is a geek and her stepsisters do not understand her or want her there.

But they are smitten by rich guy Grant Show. As it is not about looks but about character when given the chance on it there.

Tender treatment of the story with 80's style

[patrokov · 13 July 2004]

I fondly remember this after school special. It features the bony Kyra Sedgwick as a teen girl whose father has just remarried after her mother died. The fairy godmother is a mystic bag lady played wonderfully by Pearl Bailey. In a twist, the stepmother is kind and understanding, but that's more than offset by the evil stepsisters who belittle Cindy for her lack of 80's style. Of course now, we would appreciate Cindy's understated, if plain taste, and revile the hip 80's glitz. And of course a pre-Ferris Bueller/Dirty Dancing Jennifer Grey is one of those evil stepsisters. It was cheesy and self-aware, but nonetheless had a certain charm mainly due to the chemistry between Sedgwick and Bailey.