I like shopping and movies featuring hot clothes as much as the next girl. But is a movie following shopaholics worthy of humor? While based on the successful novels by Sophie Kinsella, the film version of Confessions of a Shopaholic doesn't seem fit for our current economy and seems to make light of some tragic circumstances.
Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a girl who loves to shop, so much so that she's got a room filled with clothes, the hottest fashion brands, and is currently $16,000 in debt. To complicate matters, Rebecca has recently lost her job and was glossed over for a position at a successful fashion magazine. Things change though when she ironically gets a position at a money magazine and becomes the writer of a column putting investment advice into language that regular people understand.
Isla Fisher really makes this movie what it is. The plot is ridiculous and not fashionable for our times but Fisher makes everything so sweet and hilarious. Her pratfalls and one-liners always zing, even when the material doesn't. Shopaholic is one of those movies that doesn't need a name actress, but a real girl who is relatable and funny. The other scene stealer in the film is Krysten Ritter as Rebecca's friend Suze. She's got a sharp wit and is a perfect compliment to Rebecca's wacky factor. One cannot ignore the clothes as this is a movie about shopping after all. Kudos go out to the wardrobe designer here as Fisher always looks gorgeous and while the clothes may go too far into “neon” territory they always look unique and beautiful.
Other than that it's really hard to enjoy Confessions of a Shopaholic for the plot. If you've seen True Life: I'm a Shopaholic you won't find Rebecca's problems humorous at all. In fact Rebecca even attends Shopaholics Anonymous and turns all the poor souls there three steps back. It's almost like making a film about alcoholism funny when it's just plain sad. It doesn't help that the dialogue equates shopping with making life better. It furthers the sadness in Rebecca's character yet the words “addiction” or “problem” are never mentioned. The film also takes a wonderful, funny look at debt and how easy it is to get out of it. Don't you know you too can get out of 16,000 in debt by just using your shopping smarts. For those in debt you'll really hate this movie as Rebecca is always able to get out of the issue and again, things like “bankruptcy” are never mentioned. It doesn't help that the debt collector blatantly breaks about 80 laws to get Rebecca. The main antagonist, played by Leslie Bibb, is always worthless as there's really no reason for this woman to hate Rebecca at all.
The features on the DVD are pretty bland and don't offer anything special. There are some deleted scenes and bloopers that aren't that funny. It doesn't help that the movie isn't that strong so they're avoidable. There's a trailer for the film as well and a music video with Akon that I downright hated.
Women will find Confessions of a Shopaholic cute and that's about it. The story is nothing shot of horrendous so if you just enjoy Isla Fisher and the clothes it's OK, but still a complete waste of time. The movie and DVD get a 2/5.
Entertainment News International (ENI) is the popular culture network for fans all around the world. Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!
