Confessions of a Shopaholic
(C or 2/4 stars)
In 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' (directed by P.J. Hogan), Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), a NYC writer at a dying magazine, is obsessed ... OBSESSED with buying clothes. Wearing it is not the point. It's the process (which she refers to late in the film) of 'buying' the clothes that turns her on. When an interview to write for Alette fashion magazine fails & her current job drizzles away, she finds herself knee-deep in credit card debts. Through a dizzying series of contrivances & coincidences, Rebecca manages to gain employment writing as a financial journalist for a personal savings magazine (haha) where her innovative & unconventional columns are an inexplicable, but definite success. Known (in writing) as the 'woman with the green scarf', Rebecca achieves critical acclaim, admirations, fame, but not fortune.
And she decides to hide the truth about her debts & shopping addiction from her supportive editor, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy). He believes in Rebecca, and thinks that she has the brains & voice that could reverse the downward spiral of his magazine's future. But just when things seem to be going right for her (including a budding romance with Luke), situations arise to foil her plans. Rebecca's goal of writing for Alette comes into focus, but she starts to question her true ambitions. And she must decide what's more important to her: critical success at the financial magazine, a dream job at Alette, her shopping obsession, or a relationship with Luke. She knows that at least 2 of these 4 ambitions must go. Which one's will make her happiest? Which ones will she choose?
I must admit, I started watching this movie expecting to loathe it. And in fact, the first 20 min. are irritating, unfunny, & 'rub-my-hands-together' awful. But something happened as the film went on, I started to like some of what I saw & what I heard. My dream of writing a scathing review started to drift away. Now, don't get me wrong. This is not a quality movie. The acting is mediocre. The story is ridiculous. And I'd have a hard time recommending this to most crowds. But I think the winsome attitude of Isla Fisher won me over; as she did in last yrs. Definitely, Maybe. Sure, her shopping consumption is morally repugnant (especially nowadays). Sure, her name-dropping of every fashion label under the sun became irksome. And yes, I didn't really care about many individual aspects of the story; something that is usually necessary to enjoy a movie. But I think I just got carried away by the small pleasures which popped up every now & then.
John Goodman & Joan Cusack play Rebecca's parents. Haha. Wendy Malick plays an addiction recovery group leader. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a French fashion magazine editor. Hahaha. Oh, how I love you, Kristin Scott Thomas. These 2-dimensional, parody-like performances got me going, as did the choices of music throughout the movie. The colors in the film pop. The humor is unabashedly screwball (including closets that shoot clothes out at Rebecca like they're shot from a canon). And I liked the chemistry btwn. Isla Fisher & Hugh Dancy. Overall, '...Shopaholic' is a cute, carefree, somewhat insipid movie that tries to be The Devil Wears Prada or Legally Blonde and fails. But it doesn't fail so hard that I condemn it. I can't stand people in the real world 'like' Rebecca Bloomwood; who contribute to the kind of money problems we're in right now. But this is a movie. And as escapist trash, I kinda dug it. Kinda.
And she decides to hide the truth about her debts & shopping addiction from her supportive editor, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy). He believes in Rebecca, and thinks that she has the brains & voice that could reverse the downward spiral of his magazine's future. But just when things seem to be going right for her (including a budding romance with Luke), situations arise to foil her plans. Rebecca's goal of writing for Alette comes into focus, but she starts to question her true ambitions. And she must decide what's more important to her: critical success at the financial magazine, a dream job at Alette, her shopping obsession, or a relationship with Luke. She knows that at least 2 of these 4 ambitions must go. Which one's will make her happiest? Which ones will she choose?
I must admit, I started watching this movie expecting to loathe it. And in fact, the first 20 min. are irritating, unfunny, & 'rub-my-hands-together' awful. But something happened as the film went on, I started to like some of what I saw & what I heard. My dream of writing a scathing review started to drift away. Now, don't get me wrong. This is not a quality movie. The acting is mediocre. The story is ridiculous. And I'd have a hard time recommending this to most crowds. But I think the winsome attitude of Isla Fisher won me over; as she did in last yrs. Definitely, Maybe. Sure, her shopping consumption is morally repugnant (especially nowadays). Sure, her name-dropping of every fashion label under the sun became irksome. And yes, I didn't really care about many individual aspects of the story; something that is usually necessary to enjoy a movie. But I think I just got carried away by the small pleasures which popped up every now & then.
John Goodman & Joan Cusack play Rebecca's parents. Haha. Wendy Malick plays an addiction recovery group leader. Kristin Scott Thomas plays a French fashion magazine editor. Hahaha. Oh, how I love you, Kristin Scott Thomas. These 2-dimensional, parody-like performances got me going, as did the choices of music throughout the movie. The colors in the film pop. The humor is unabashedly screwball (including closets that shoot clothes out at Rebecca like they're shot from a canon). And I liked the chemistry btwn. Isla Fisher & Hugh Dancy. Overall, '...Shopaholic' is a cute, carefree, somewhat insipid movie that tries to be The Devil Wears Prada or Legally Blonde and fails. But it doesn't fail so hard that I condemn it. I can't stand people in the real world 'like' Rebecca Bloomwood; who contribute to the kind of money problems we're in right now. But this is a movie. And as escapist trash, I kinda dug it. Kinda.