‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ = Good Weekend Fluff
Gucci up for some easy laughs with “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” which just came out on Tuesday.
Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a writer with a shopping problem. Actually, she has no problem shopping, it’s paying off the “magic cards”–12 of them–that is the problem.
When her magazine folds and she can’t get her dream job at her favorite fashion magazine, Becky is forced take a job at the magazine “Successful Saving.” To add further twist to the irony, she becomes a huge success writing a personal finance column–even though she is more than $16 Grand in the hole.
Her editor thinks she is writing about finance with fashion as a metaphor, but she clearly knows nothing about financial matters. It is a little like Peter Sellers as Chauncey Gardener in “Being There,” although Fisher–while funny–is no Peter Sellers.
Becky’s problems mount as she’s forced to dodge debt collectors, attend Shopaholics Anonymous and begins falling for her scruffy-lookin’ but oddly fashion-savvy editor.
There are plenty of laughs and loads of…what else can I call it…fashion porn. Many major designers are well represented.
Probably because of all the fashion, I went into “Confessions” with “The Devil Wears Prada” in mind. It is a bad comparison to make. Both films are based on books and fashion, but “Confessions” is a fluffy chick flick and “Prada” sports a much darker humor with deeper character development.
“Confessions” also dresses up in an all-star cast. John Goodman, Joan Cusack, John Lithgow and Kristin Scott Thomas are all featured. It is too bad many of them didn’t get more screen time and punchlines. Except for Thomas, the other three are well known for their comic chops.
Fisher, who was very funny in “The Wedding Crashers,” has a rather difficult role. Comedy is actually very hard work, and she must blend it with the roles of a romantic and reformed “sinner.” She’s fine with laughs and love, but the reformation scenes are a bit of a struggle. But, maybe that’s too much analysis for a bubble-gum movie.
Overall, this is just a sweet little comedy and perfect for light weekend entertainment.


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