Shopgirl ***spoilers***

[Ravenlocks]

I had serious doubts that I would like this movie. It looked like exactly the sort of movie I generally don't much care for: character-based, more mood than story. And it was.

BUT.

It was very clever. It had a subtle humor. And it didn't feel fake or, you know, stupidly suicidal (and I apologize to people who like movies like The Hours, but I just can't get into them). The characters were awkward with one another, they misunderstood one another. They weren't sure of things. Nothing was black and white. At the end they thought they were better off, but who knows.

Kudos to Steve Martin. He did a good job. And my guess would be he's dated quite a bit. He got it so right.

I didn't like the V.O. or the cheesy window/stars shots, but I can overlook them.



P.S. I don't know if anything I said here really counts as spoilers, but I put that in the title just in case it does or I feel like adding some or somebody else adds some.

P.P.S. For those of you in LA, I wholeheartedly recommend the Arclight's 21 and over screenings. There's something really great about watching a movie in the theater with a drink in your hand. And afterward they give you a free martini glass and, in this case, a copy of the book the movie was based on.

[Bad Liver]

Kudos to Steve Martin. He did a good job. And my guess would be he's dated quite a bit. He got it so right.

.

When I read the book, I couldn't help but thinking that the entire thing was a mea culpa letter Steve Martin started writing to his own "Shopgirl" that became a novella. It really felt like he was writing a factual account of something he had been through.

[elephant1978]

This is a wonderful movie. I had no expectations going in. But it is funny, touching, sad at times, and always full of charater and depth. To sum it up, it is an adult romantic comedy. No cheesy ticking clocks or rug pulls or tacked-on surprises. It's about the development of love and finding somebody who returns what you give them. Even when the context of romance cliches pop up they don't ruin the movie, because the content within them is so fresh and honest.

This is one of the best movies I've seen this year. It will easily be in my top 10.

Ele...

[Teris]

I thought the movie had it's moments (mostly when Schwartzman was on screen), but overall was a dud. The composer should have been shot. Why all the melodramatic soap opera music? The voiceover was irritating, unnecessary, distracting and pretentious. And as ravenlocks pointed out, the windows/stars shots were cheesy and way overdone. I think the script had some merit, but it was poorly directed.

[captain bligh]

i don't really care for the 21 and over screenings. downstairs you get a tall glass of beer; upstairs, at the screenings, a little plastic cup like you're at a backyard party. i also don't like that you have to wait in two lines, one for the movie and a second for your wrist band.

i'd rather buy a coke and bring a flask, and not have to wear a wrist band like i'm some 22 year old club-kid.

i think they're a great idea, but don't like how they're done.

as for shopgirl, i'm glad to hear people are liking it. i was just wondering what happened to clare danes, and i always like steve martin.

[dclary]

If you haven't read anything else Steve's written, you're missing out. The man is a brilliant writer, and a wonder thespian who's never received the credit he's deserved.

He's also a WILD AND CRAZY GUY!!!!

:p

[alipali]

Commendable and all that. But it still falls short of explaining BOWFINGER.

[whitenavel]

If you haven't read anything else Steve's written, you're missing out. The man is a brilliant writer, and a wonder thespian who's never received the credit he's deserved.

He's also a WILD AND CRAZY GUY!!!!



Very true. But this is so not a DClary film.

[dgrunert]

Bowfinger is one of those movies that gets better with age. I've always been a HUGE fan of Steve Martin, especially as a screenwriter. Roxanne and LA Story are both brilliant. IMO, his only misfire was Simple Twist of Fate. That movie was schmaltzy and over-melodramatic and devoid of any of Martin's sharp wit.

[Slappynipsy]

i don't really care for the 21 and over screenings. downstairs you get a tall glass of beer; upstairs, at the screenings, a little plastic cup like you're at a backyard party. i also don't like that you have to wait in two lines, one for the movie and a second for your wrist band.




You kids need an Alamo Drafthouse.

[dclary]

Very true. But this is so not a DClary film.


I make exceptions for Steve.

[cluckyburger]

saw it today. a fine example of a movie that shouldn't work but does, and pretty brilliantly. i loved all the star stuff, loved the music, loved the voice over that announces itself as intrusive voice over. hilarious. oh, and claire danes. just tremendous.

[dgrunert]

Finally saw it on Saturday. What a GREAT movie - funny, sad and so honest. Steve Martin has a way of showing things in the films he has written that you've never seen before, even while treading familiar territory. Like Ele, this will definitely be in my top 10 this year!

[whitenavel]

SPOILERS



I liked this film. But there was one major problem I had with it. Schwartzman's character. He was completely unlikable and ignorant and a buffoon. I find it hard to believe that Danes would ever want to be with him, even after his ridiculous "on the road" romance/ love discovery. At first, it makes sense because she just wanted to be touched and held, regardless of who it was. But she seemed too smart for this guy to have anything decent to offer her, even after his so-called "change".

The "love" story between Danes and Martin was fascinating and real and such a pleasure to watch. But then they kept going back to Schwartzman on the road. It was a distraction. I just hated his annoying character. And I hated the fact that she went back to him in the end. She deserves better.

Danes was great. She can go from being plain to stunning with little effort.

[ExtHollywoodDay]

**SPOLIERS***






I had the pleasure of bringing my new girlfriend, an actual shopgirl of sorts, to the WGA screening a few days ago. Steve Martin did Q&A afterwards.

I've run into a lot of celebrities in 12 years in LA, but this was really exciting stuff. He was just as witty in real life as you'd expect. (For example, a woman in the audience asked "why no lavender?," apparently trying to be cool and show she'd read the novella, but Steve was just a blank. After a second he told her she must be thinking of War & Peace.)

I "read the audiobook" a year ago. (was burned out on reading books at the time.) I hate to say I wish there had been more of his able narration, and that it was more evenly spread around the story.

But if you had to make a subtle, patient, Lost In Translation style character study, I think this would be a good one. I think it's a slow genre and not for everybody. But I think that this was about as good as the genre allows. I would say, though, that they did miss out on one huge source of conflict that was present to a much larger extent in the book: the girl who tries to swipe Mr. Ray Porter away from Mirabelle is planning it for much longer in the book, so it feels like a huge relief when she grabs the wrong guy.

Even if the larger issue is the subtleties of adult relationships, I think the book felt better structured that way.





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