Confessions of a Shopaholic Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)February 17th, 2009
"Confessions" Doesn't Have a Whole Lot to Say
by Homer Yen
(c) 2009
In many ways, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" follows the same trajectory-of-euphoria as purchasing a cashmere coat with your credit card. It seems great at first. Then you stop paying attention to it. Then you realize that you'll have to keep paying for it long after there isn't any more use for the coat. That is not to say, however, that I didn't like "COAS". In fact, I took that cute metaphor from the film. But for all of its initial promise, I wished that there was more to it. I wished that it could've left a lingering, positive impression. Instead, it only achieves being a semi-cute romantic comedy splashed with elements from just about every film starring Hugh Grant
"COAS" is actually two separate films-in-one. On the one hand, it is a humorous-if-only-superficial look at the irresistible urge for some to shop and the consequences that arise from mounting debt. Shopping (actually...buying) is especially addictive for Rebecca (Isla Fisher) who says in an early scene, "there are real prices and there are Mom prices. The real prices are for real things like shoes with sparkly things on them that probably last one season. The mom prices usually involve something that's unattractively brown and lasts forever." Well, it's the sparkly things that people like Rebecca want. Now, to the passers-by, it may look like a coat by Burberry or a blouse by Chanel. But the real story is: coat by Visa and blouse by American Express. That's fresh and I liked how the film starts.
The other part of the film involves Rebecca unexpectedly landing a job as a personal finance columnist. Now, the irony begins to take shape. She is in huge amounts of debt with an overly aggressive debt-collector pursuing her. Yet, her personal musings on why purses are better than men (you can return purses and instantly pick another) make for great reading. She's a simple girl with not-so-simple tastes. Her romantic interest (Hugh Dancy) is her editor who is a not-so-simple guy with simple tastes. Sure, there are cute scenes between the two, especially when he saves her from an embarrassing moment at a company dinner. Yet, while the film has a generally amiable feeling, it doesn't go any further. And, her parents (John Goodman and Joan Cusack) are totally underutilized.
"COAS" has an unexpectedly whimsical nature. It starts with the buoyancy of the film's star. It continues on with the lifelike mannequins that adorn the windows of 5th Ave that taunt poor Rebecca into buying something that she can't afford. And it charges forth with screwball silliness. Our in-debt heroine is wonderfully ditzy. At the same time, it doesn't really manage to distinguish itself from any of the other Hugh Grant/meet-cute films. As Rebecca herself laments, shopping is like a drug or an aphrodisiac. The euphoria never lasts as long as initially hoped.
Sadly, the same is true of this film. It's kind of like asking yourself at the checkout counter, with your 12% credit card in hand, should I go ahead and get it? Do I really want it? Despite flashes of radiance, the film begins to feel long. And, when I say *feel*, it's the same feeling you have when you have a balance on a high-interest credit card and make only the minimum payments.
Grade: B-
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 0 out of 3
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