Confessions of a Shopaholic

Romantic comedies fail to leave me unentertained. Even if the movie sucked big-time, I still feel like I at least got my money's worth for two-something hours of entertainment. So I do have a particular bias for rom-coms.

Okay, let me just blurt it out. I love romantic comedies. And I think Isla Fisher is really cute.

Despite the title, the story does not center on Isla Fisher's shopping addiction, nor on her support group Shopaholics Anonymous. It's basically a love story, more than anything else, between Ms. Fisher's character and her boss, played by Hugh Dancy. The shopaholic angle is merely a device to give the characters something to propel themselves forward with.

Isla Fisher is extremely delightful in her performance, able to pull off her sweet yet slightly dishonest character. And the lovely Kristin Scott Thomas likewise gives a splendid performance, as the heavily-accented French owner of a magazine. Veterans John Goodman and Joan Cusack play Ms. Fisher's parents, and for those who remember these two actors in their prime, you'd be surprised at how much both of them aged. You could almost feel their wrinkles while looking up at them on the screen. Anyway, everybody grows old, and one day all of us will look like that, so just be thankful we are still blessed with the recklessness of youth. One actress to look out for would be newcomer Krysten Ritter, the young, sexy, and funny lady who plays Isla Fisher's best friend. A few more movies and she'd be as busy as Ms. Fisher herself.

Some outstanding scenes in the movie include the talking store mannequins. Of course they're computer-generated. But what's great is that they were done by ILM's wizard-in-residence, Mr. John Knoll himself, who is more famous for his special effects work in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. But those scenes took only a few minutes---not enough to convert this from a rom-com to a special effects flick. So for now, we enjoy window shopping, clothing sales, and staring at Isla Fisher's cute face.


Confessions of a Shopaholic. 2009. USA.

Rating: Six out of ten.