Love story unfolds in modern-day comedy
Winston Mize
Arts & Culture Editor
Issue date: 4/13/09 Section: Arts & Culture
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Grade: B
Prada, Versace, Valentino and Dior were not the only apples in the eye of Australian-born actress Isla Fisher in her new romantic comedy, Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Fisher takes on her first leading role as a New York Journalist, struggling with her obsession for shopping, while shaking off her hounding debt collectors, scrambling for her dream job, and finding true love.
The movie kicks off with a quirky glance at the dire state of Rebecca Bloomwood's (Fisher) affairs.
She is heading to an interview at the fashion-oriented Alette magazine and she feels as if she needs this magnificent green scarf that happens to be on sale.
After trying to pay for it with each of her credit cards, which have or almost reached their limit, she finds herself twenty dollars short.
Rebecca runs to the street and finds a man who gives her twenty dollars, stating she needs the cash for her grandmother.
She buys the scarf and heads to Alette, only to find the position has been filled. After hearing a tip that Successful Savings, a partner magazine, is hiring, and that it's a way in for Alette, Rebecca heads to the interview.
As she walks into Successful Savings, she realizes the editor is the man on the street who gave her the money for the scarf.
Caught in her lie, Rebecca is cast out in shame, and to ease the pain, she shops.
After Rebecca realizes she's thousands of dollars in debt, she writes a letter to each magazine.
One holds a story for Alette, while the other contains contempt for its counterpart. Of course, in typical comedic fashion, the mailing slipped up.
Successful Savings editor, Luke Brandon, played by Hugh Dancy, gets the story as Rebecca stops the other letter from reaching Alette. She is offered a job from Brandon, which she procrastinates on to indulge in a massive sample sale.
After buying a disappointing Cashmere coat, Rebecca writes a fantastic article comparing the incident to applying for credit. She writes the story as the mysterious Girl in the Green Scarf. The story is a hit.
From that point, the story moves along. She endures her instant success, while cutely and cleverly dodging the debt collector Derek Smeath, which includes a ruse telling Brandon he is a psychotic ex-boyfriend.
Suze, whose wedding is approaching, forces Rebecca to attend a shopaholic therapy group, which did not go over well.
The movie continues at a quickening pace. Brandon and Rebecca fall for each other while at a ball. Her shopping gets her into trouble with Suze, and Derek Smeath embarrasses her on television.
Later, she and Brandon fall apart. Yet she is still offered a dream job at Alette, which she refuses.
The movie wraps up in an almost expected way. Rebecca sells her things, with the help of her charming mom and dad (Joan Cusack and John Goodman), her now best friend again Suze, and her fellow therapy session members.
She even sells the infamous Green scarf, which was actually bought by a bidder acting on behalf of Brandon.
With her debt gone, she goes into two ventures with Brandon, a relationship and his new magazine, where she writes a column called "Confessions of a Shopaholic."
Fisher is comedic gold. She breezes through the cutesy one-liners, the witty dialogue, and even pulls of the cheesy slapstick in the film. She has emerged from being a sideshow to a front runner.
While the structure is not entirely original, the film still is very stylish. Confessions of a Shopaholic delivers in more ways than one.
While it may not offer something for all audiences, it still has a spark that will make viewers stay interested.
The plot at times gets a little confusing, with several stories all branching from Rebecca's addiction, which she explains as, "When I shop, the world just gets a little bit better, as long as I can swipe that card, hear it be approved, everything is a little less dim."
The film has style, humor, and talent. Confessions of a Shopaholic may not top the must see list, but it's a film that provides the quick little escape viewers are looking for.•
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