Drew Barrymore celebrated the 25th anniversary of Ever After with a cast reunion on her talk show—complete with her two stepsisters (and full costumes)
If you grew up in the ’80s or ’90s, odds are good that you’ve seen Ever After: A Cinderella Story roughly 7,000 times. It’s one of the film roles we have to thank for Drew Barrymore’s absolute icon status in the rom-com industry—and it was also way ahead of its time by giving us a romance story about a woman who had the agency to save herself (rather than languish while waiting for a Prince Charming to show up and do it).
So, to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, Barrymore invited her stepsisters, played by Melanie Lynskey and Megan Dodds, onto The Drew Barrymore Show, where they reminisced about the classic film—in full Renaissance-era costume.
“It’s not even a show. We’re just here in a time machine and we’re back 25 years ago because it’s the 25th anniversary of Every After,” Barrymore said while sporting one of her most iconic and recognizable looks: a flowing royal gown with angel wings attached to the back. “I literally can’t even believe it. I get to be here with my sisters, my step sisters.”
Barrymore, Lynskey, and Dodds spent the show sharing behind-the-scenes gossip from when they filmed Ever After—and were even joined by Dougray Scott, the movie’s charming Prince Henry, on a video call.
One of the best secrets revealed was that Barrymore, who was only 23 when she filmed Ever After, was instrumental in casting Anjelica Huston to play her evil stepmother.
“I remember just going, ‘Screw it, I’m gonna find her phone number and I’m gonna call her.’ And I got her on the phone,” she revealed. “I said, ‘You know what, for your dad John Huston and my grandfather John Barrymore who you know partied here on Earth and are somewhere up in heaven keeping it going … Barrymore Huston, Huston Barrymore, we’ve got to do this.”
That’s such a poignant story, considering the plot of Ever After and how it was one of the most empowering movies for girls and young women at the time (and still is today, TBH).
“I was in my early 20s and then I was trying to start a company and wanted to tell stories and make films and that particular messaging that you can rescue yourself and you don’t have to wait to be rescued is definitely the thing that set me up best in my life,” Barrymore explained. “I don’t know who I would be, honestly, without it. It changed the way I saw the world.”
There are probably many millennial women who can say the same. Now to celebrate Ever After’s 25th anniversary with a rewatch—you can currently stream it on Disney+ and Hulu, or rent it on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, and YouTube.
