Hilary Duff’s Daughter Points Out A Plot Hole In A Cinderella Story
She asked what we’ve all been wondering.
A Cinderella Story has it all: a stacked cast, fairytale inspiration, and a cinematic kiss in the rain. It’s *almost* the perfect film — except for one glaring plot hole. In the 2004 rom-com, Austin Ames (played by Chad Michael Murray) inexplicably does not recognize Sam Montgomery (played by Hilary Duff) because she’s wearing a small white mask over her eyes. It’s an incongruity that has haunted fans for years, and according to Duff, her 4-year-old daughter had the same qualm.
In the movie, Duff’s character and Murray have several onscreen interactions — including a one-on-one conversation at the diner — before the school dance. And yet, when she’s in costume, Sam’s identity is a complete mystery to Austin. For Duff’s daughter Mae, that doesn’t quite add up. "My 4-year-old has watched this movie,” Duff told Vanity Fair in a video posted on Jan. 20, “and also picked up on like, how could he not know it's you in that mask?”
“I was like, 'It's the age-old question, honey,'” Duff continued. "And she's like, 'But it's you. You are right there. I don't understand. How does he not know?' I'm like, 'I know.'"
Duff has previously discussed the movie’s plot hole. In a 2020 interview with Cosmopolitan, Duff offered a potential explanation for Austin’s confusion. “Maybe he got hit in the head too many times during football?” she quipped.
“It was pretty recognizably me, right? I don't even know if that was even a question [that came up] on set!” she added at the time. “There was definitely a problem with the script there.”
In a 2024 interview with People, the film’s costume designer Denise Wingate discussed the creative choice behind the mask. "You had to be able to see her eyes, but not to be able to see her too much because the joke was for him to not know it was her," Wingate told the outlet at the time. Still, she acknowledged Austin’s obliviousness. "How does he not know?! Isn't it obvious?!"
