Curbing one: woman's urge to splurge

Iskandar Liem ,  Contributor ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 03/22/2009 2:02 PM  |  Screen

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but in these financially troubled times credit cards are definitely her worst enemy. That seems to be the moral of Confessions of a Shopaholic.

But leave high expectations at the auditorium door, throw in bestselling chick-lit source novels plus a charming lead actress with a natural flair for comedy, and you may get two pretty entertaining hours watching how the titular big spender learns Personal Finance 101.

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a New York City journalist with a passion for the sartorial and one serious retail addiction. Freshly unemployed and already maxing out most of her credit cards, she applies for a position at Alette, a bona fide fashion magazine where a not-so-serendipitous turn of events lands her a gig at a sister publication dealing with financial management instead.

Thinking it could be a stepping stone to Alette next door, Rebecca decides to give Successful Savings magazine a shot.

Naturally, Rebecca knows zilch about finance, and yet she manages to churn out an article (by comparing monetary matters to cashmere sweaters - among other things) which miraculously becomes a huge hit with readers. At the same time, she constantly struggles to keep her buying impulses in check, while playing hide-and-seek with a villainous debt collector.

Since this is a romantic comedy aimed primarily at female audiences, it's hardly surprising that Successful Savings is run by impossibly dashing Brit editor Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy). Add marriage-bound best friend Suze (Krysten Ritter) along with abovementioned debt collector (Robert Stanton) to the mix, and you've got staple chick flick ingredients right there, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how things are going to develop in the third act.

Based on the first two novels of Sophie Kinsella's successful Shopaholic series, the predictable plot's already stretched thin as it is. Despite the witty one-liners, the story is peppered with numerous contrivances and inane decisions which Rebecca keeps making, which are way too implausible to be taken seriously.

It's a testament to the vast comedic skills of Aussie actress Isla Fisher, who takes to this "financially conscientious version of Carrie Bradshaw" character with such genuine aplomb that it's easy to overlook these contrivances.

In reality, if one were to meet someone who spouts preposterous lines like, "a man will never love you as well as a store does," the logical thing to do would be to check her into the nearest mental asylum and run quickly in the opposite direction.

But Fisher plays Rebecca with such likeability that we're compelled to suspend our disbelief at the plot thanks to a delightful performance akin to an adorable cross between a less fidgety Julia Roberts circa Pretty Woman, and a non irritating Meg Ryan.

Scenes like when Rebecca is faced with the consequence of lying about being fluent in Finnish and when she performs what seems to be a chicken dance with a fan highlight Fisher's uncanny comic abilities even further. Even when it seems like there's one too many pratfalls onscreen, Rebecca is admittedly a dimwit, but never a grating presence.

Credit is due to director P. J. Hogan (like his leading lady, also hailing from Down Under) who's an old hand at making seemingly unlikable female characters endearing to audiences. Sure, Hogan's Shopaholic may not venture into brutally dark comedic territory like Muriel's Wedding or break new ground in cinematic genre rules like My Best Friend's Wedding, but he's gracious enough to let Fisher's bubbly personality *own' the movie.

A notable supporting cast includes the terrific Ritter as the rational influence in Rebecca's life, Stanton as the debt collector and Wendie Malick's (from the 90s sitcom Just Shoot Me) brief yet uproarious turn as mediator of a Shopaholics Anonymous group that Rebecca attends.

Dancy is fine as the love interest, while Joan Cusack and John Goodman playing Rebecca's parents aren't given much to do besides being supportive of their troubled daughter ("Your mother and I think that if the American economy can be billions in debt and still survive, so can you," quips Dad at one point).

Then there's the thankless role of Alette, the French editor-in-chief of her magazine namesake, which inevitably draws an unfavorable comparison to Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. It's indeed unfair to compare the two since Alette is a much smaller role than Miranda, but when even an accomplished actress like Kristin Scott Thomas can't make it work, perhaps it's time to tweak the script a little, given the immense comedic potential of the character.

In a nutshell, it's best to go into Shopaholic simply looking to be entertained - without any anticipation of it being another Prada. Yes, this recession-ignorant, Mastercard-waving comedy is no modern classic, but as a showcase that heralds the arrival of a new great comedienne? It's priceless.

Confessions of a Shopaholic is now showing at Blitz Megaplex and 21 Cinemas

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