Review: ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’

Jennifer:

It is always interesting to see a book brought to life in a movie. Stories with which we are so familiar seen through the eyes of another. Some adaptations are a success, others, not so much.

Tonight we saw a sneak preview of ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ which is based not only on the best selling novel of the same name but also the second book in the series ‘The Shopaholic Takes Manhattan’. The movie stars Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) as Rebecca Bloomwood, a twenty something journalist who believes that the road to happiness should be traveled in style.

After adjusting to the idea of the story taking place in New York instead of London and the changes in the specifics of Becky’s job (as a stepping stone to a job at another magazine in the same publishing house) I settled in to enjoy a surprisingly funny movie. While I had expected to enjoy the whole thing I did NOT expect my boyfriend – who attended under duress – to like it as much as he did.

The spirit of the story is faithful to the books while the sequence of events (and events themselves!) are not. Becky is a journalist who takes a job giving financial advice for ‘Successful Savings’ magazine. She is able to explain sometimes complicated aspects of personal finance into easily understandable terms by likening them to shopping. This approach really resonates with the audience of the magazine and Becky quickly finds herself catapulted to a seat on a morning TV show to dole out advice in person. All of this would be a dream come true were she not hiding from a number of increasingly persistent debt collectors – one of whom is tipped off about the appearance and attends the broadcast.

The movie is quick paced and fun to watch. The entire cast is excellent in their roles but Fisher easily outshines them all. The character of Becky (especially in some of the outfits in this movie. It looked like Rainbow Brite was the wardrobe designer!) could all too easily be a hysterical caricature of herself – look for the dance scene, one of our favorites. Fisher manages to give her warmth and innate likability.

‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ opens in wide release on Friday February 13, 2009. It is a perfect date movie delivered just in time for Valentine’s Day.

[Overall: 4 stars out of 5]

Chad:

So, Jennifer (my girlfriend) and I saw Jerry Bruckheimer’s vision of ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ and I have to say, it was pretty good. It was much better than I had initially expected. The movie is based on two books, Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan, from the best selling author Sophie Kinsella. The movie itself was trite and fun, which I think was the main part of it’s appeal.

The film had two things going for it. It was far from predictable, which was very refreshing for me, and it had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. The story follows shopaholic Rebecca Bloomwood, played by Isla Fisher (‘Wedding Crashers’), as she traverses the outrageous worlds of high fashion and high finance. The only problem is that she finds herself on the wrong side of both. Her addiction, buying the peak of fashion items, has gradually sunk her deeply in debt with her credit card companies.

Her debt becomes a problem when an alcohol-induced mailing mistake lands her in a writing position with a finance magazine of all things. However, with the help of her editor Luke Brandon, played by Hugh Dancy (‘Blood and Chocolate’), she finds her voice. The fashion metaphors she uses to explain the almost too complex world of money and finance really resonate with the general public. She even lands a spot on a television show, which is an awesome opportunity for her. That is, until they open the floor for questions and one of her bill collectors takes the mic.

All in all, this was a fun film. I was pleasantly surprised at that. To all the guys out there, this is a perfect date movie. It’s witty, funny and your ladies will enjoy it.

It opens this weekend, just in time for Valentines Day!

[Overall: 4 stars out of 5]