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DVD Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic By Kim Sabshin  |
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In rare cases, you know ahead of time that you will enjoy a particular movie. However, there are many others that don’t make you look forward to walking into the theater or putting the disc into your DVD player. They’re either outside of your element, the plots are corny, or you can just smell mediocre material from a mile away. Although it tries to be a lighthearted comedy, Confessions of a Shopaholic falls into most of the latter categories.
The movie is directed by P.J. Hogan and based on the first book in Sophie Kinsella’s best-selling series. Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a recent college graduate who dreams of writing for a fashion magazine. Instead, a mix-up lands her a job at a financial advice publication, even though she has 16 thousand dollars worth of credit card bills and a debt collector (Robert Stanton) on her heels. She must not only sort out this dilemma, but also deal with her growing attraction for her boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy).
In case this wasn’t obvious enough from the title, this is “chick flick” material at its fluffiest. Rebecca is intended to be a ditzy-but-lovable character – however, more often than not, she comes across as the former without the latter. She is British in the novels but American in the movie, and Hogan would have been better off leaving this alone. It adds nothing but a sense of a weak attempt to appeal to Hollywood and American audiences.
Confessions is also heavy on the slapstick humor. Unfortunately, most of it is nothing that viewers wouldn’t have already seen before in countless similar movies. From a drunken letter-sending snafu to clothes literally flying out of an overloaded closet, nothing will strike you as really original or worthy of more than a few chuckles.
Since this is a romantic comedy, it’s worth commenting on the romance. The chemistry between Fisher and Dancy is nothing anything to write home about, and more or less what you would expect from this kind of movie. They spend time together, fall in love, argue some, and the rest is history. If you’ve read the novels, you know how it ends.
I would have liked to see more of Joan Cusack and John Goodman, who play Rebecca’s thrifty parents whom she has kept in the dark about her spending. Speaking of which, it’s worth pointing out that this movie was released at an odd time. The average American adult would sympathize with Rebecca’s parents given the economy, and I can understand those who might argue that the film is tacky, even if it is escapist and a parody of materialism. It’s really hard to miss the name-dropping of designer labels, and it gets annoying.
Overall, Confessions of a Shopaholic is okay if you want a movie for a sleepover, or are otherwise appealing to young people who like to shop and can relate to the film’s protagonist. It’s good for the novelty value, especially if spend-happy teenagers watch it with their parents. However, don’t expect anything particularly fresh or exciting.
Rating: 2/5
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