DVD
REVIEW:
CONFESSIONS OF A
SHOPAHOLIC
6/20/09
SYNOPSIS: When
fashionista Rebecca Bloomwood’s out-of-control spending
reaches the outer limits of her credit cards, she is forced
to find employment to pay for her label-icious wardrobe. Her
dream job is a position at New York’s top fashion rag Alette,
but she has to settle for a desk at Successful Saving, a
struggling financial magazine owned by the same publishing
company. With a dogged debt collector (Robert Stanton) hot
on her stilettos, Becky becomes the unlikely author of a
column on saving money—with a little help from her friends
at
Google. Her unconventional outlook on money matters attracts
the approval of her dreamy boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy),
and Becky begins to think maybe there is a whole new world
waiting for her just a few steps away from Madison Avenue.
FILM REVIEW: It’s a
modern age epidemic. It is a true psychological condition.
For Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) it all started as a
childhood trauma that she experienced while shopping with
her frugal mother as she watched all the other ladies
fulfill their dreams with the use of a magic card, no cash
needed. The shopaholic monster in her was born. This movie
was charming, cute, better than you might think, and more
dramatic than you might think. It’s not just a comedy. But
it is very funny chock full of embarrassing moments and
comical situations. Unfortunately, I have not read the book
so I honestly cannot compare it to the movie. If you know me
or have read some of my reviews, you should not be
surprised. I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a
thousand words so I prefer to watch than to read. I have no
idea if it does the book justice but I can tell you that I
really had a lot of fun watching this movie. Granted, I have
to admit that I am a little biased when it comes to Isla.
She is irresistibly adorable and her performance in this
movie strengthened that position. She really poured it on in
this lead role and she did fabulous. She was funny but not
necessarily over the top. She was dramatic but not over
acting. She snags you on her line and reels you in. It will
be difficult for her to top her popular breakout performance
in Wedding Crashers, which is truly an instant classical
cinematic performance, but this one comes in a close second.
She brings a combination of let’s say a Carrie from Sex and
the City with an Elle Woods from Legally Blonde placed in a
Devil Wears Prada setting, ish. If you are not too fond of
those kind of characters then you might be turned off by
this movie. She is the hopeful underdog in a hopeless
situation waiting for the big “hopportunity” to make it in
one of the most difficult towns in which to do so, New York.
If you watch the movie you’ll know what I mean by
“hopportunity” (it’s a funny moment that stuck with me).
There were other actors in this film, I assure you. The male
lead is played by Hugh Dancy, Rebecca’s boss Luke Brandon,
and he is charming, English accent and all. Krysten Ritter
as Becky’s best friend Suze is effective and compliments
Isla well. Joan Cusack and John Goodman are the parents of
said shopaholic and they are quite the opposite of
shopaholics. Leslie Bibb plays Alicia Billington, the
character that you will love to hate. And of course there is
the eternally endearing Julie Hagerty who plays Hayley, a
secretary, in her unique, quirky way. I will never forget
her unforgettable role in Airplane. She is an unsung hero of
comedy films.
The story is predictable and the content is not exactly
fresh, but the shopaholic subject is well explored. Believe
or not this movie does have an interesting use of special
effects animation of which I don’t want to spoil for you but
I’ll tell you that it’s very cool. Director P.J. Hogan
(Muriel’s Wedding, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Peter Pan) has
done some really good work and he delivers a fine piece here
as well. This might be a chick flick, but guys, if you are a
fan of Isla, you won’t mind going to see this flick.
Film
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
DVD: Confessions of a Shopaholic is presented in
a widescreen format with a 2.40:1 aspect ration,
preserving its original theatrical released format. The
transfer looks clean without color saturation. The picture is
complemented with an English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby digital, with Spanish and French subtitles.
In terms of special
features the DVD doesn't include much. Only four deleted
scenes, 2 minutes of bloopers and the music video
“Stuck with Each Other” Music Video by Shontelle Featuring
Akon. It also includes a digital copy.
VIDEO:
2.40:1 Anamorphic Widescreen (16x9)
AUDIO:
English , French
Spanish5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English
French - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Bloopers (2:08)
Deleted Scenes A total of four deleted
scenes. I was surprised to find that 2 of these deleted
scenes were not in the film. Those scenes are "19 Scarfity
Scarf Scarf" and "Zebra Print Pants".(5:30)
“Stuck with Each Other” Music Video by Shontelle Featuring
Akon
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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