In Confessions of a Shopaholic, Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a sweet and charming New York City girl who has a tiny, little problem that is rapidly turning into a big problem: she's hopelessly addicted to shopping and drowning in a sea of debt. While Rebecca has dreams of working for a top fashion magazine, she can't quite get her foot in the door-that is, until she snags a job as an advice columnist for a new financial magazine published by the same company. Overnight, her column becomes hugely popular, turning her into an overnight celebrity. But when her compulsive shopping and growing debt issues threaten to destroy her love life and derail her career, she struggles to keep it all from spiraling out of control--and is ultimately forced to reevaluate what's really important in life.
Making a shiny Hollywood film about the perils of shopping is like sending an alcoholic to buy wine for your party. Here, silks glow, furs rustle and getting in debt is fun and glamorous, which is why most of this film is about the slide into negative equity. Getting out again is drawn-out and dull. Here, it takes about 15 minutes. Still, if you want gritty realism, see an arthouse movie. Or shop in a pound store. As journalist Rebecca, Isla Fisher is silly and adorable – just like this adaptation of Sophie Kinsella’s novel (transposed, naturally, from London to New York). A fashion desperado with more overdue credit card bills than she has little black dresses, she gets a job under sexy Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy) at his unsexy financial magazine hoping she can claw her way up to the company’s flagship publication, Alette. This is a fabulous alternative reality: editors of fashion magazines drop everything to take rookies shopping and even the debt collector has a sense of humour. And yet there’s reason beneath the nonsense. Rebecca is an addict: she lies and hurts those around her. She doesn’t even look right in her finery; unlike Carrie Bradshaw, she clumps along in her Louboutins like she has no right to them. And of course, she doesn’t. She’s a perfectly packaged product of the last boom, and the film knows so. Not that that gets in the way of having lots of escapist fun with the realities of Rebecca’s own private credit crunch. There’s a lesson there, and it’s not how to accessorise a Prada mini-dress. Mostly, though, "Shopaholic" is about fun. The fun starts with ridiculous costumes (most of the time, the bottom half of Rebecca looks like she's going to the Oscars and the top half looks like she's on her way to a hoedown). Director P.J. Hogan, whose "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Muriel's Wedding" demonstrate his gift for fantasy-world farce, also keeps things moving at a brisk, bright pace. And he has chosen actors who can, like drops of vanilla, make a big impact in tiny quantities: Kristin Scott Thomas' fashionista is as delicate as a hummingbird, Joan Cusack is sweet as Rebecca's mom and John Goodman is just plain brilliant in a couple of scenes as Rebecca's wise dad. All of it hangs together because Fisher brings so much warmth to the potentially annoying Rebecca. Here's hoping her career goes more in the direction of "Blonde's" Reese Witherspoon than "Clueless' " Alicia Whatshername. Yes, Confessions of a Shopaholic's release in theaters seems ill-timed due to the current disastrous financial predicament we find ourselves in. And yes, this shopaholic's wasteful ways would have been better suited for a film released 10 years ago. But Fisher, under the direction of romantic comedy veteran PJ Hogan (Muriel's Wedding,My Best Friend's Wedding), makes us connect with this film that's ultimately about taking responsibility and admitting your faults. But put aside what it's about, forget trying to interpret the message, and just take Confessions of a Shopaholic for what it is – a goofy, likeable enough chick flick. Even I have a soft spot for chick flicks and this is one of them. A designer 4 on my "Go See" scale.
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