Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

John Goodman and Joan Cusak. Really. When have they ever been in a bad movie. They played second fiddle but they were perfectly wonderful. Isla Fisher was beautiful and funny all at the same time. And this Hugh Dansey. Never heard of this guy before but he was like a young Hugh Grant who I don't care what anyone says, is hilarious. Of course the young and the stupid gave this a bad rating. That is because the only comedy they understand is someone who is dumb. Dumb and Dumber. This is smart comedy with a flare. Good family fun. Just make sure there are some onions around to blame for the tears toward the end.

I actually tried hard to like this movie, I really did. The thing is, RomComs are generally bad with a few gems. It's super weird since Romance by itself is very good, and Comedy by itself is really good. For some reason, they just can't mesh well together. This is because bad RomComs are either super annoying, or they go from RomCom to a torture porn fest. It's actually unsettling. Without further ado, let's jump into this review.Rebecca is the opposite of Andy from The Devil Wears Prada. She is a girl, who has a passion for fashion, working at some random gardening place with a dream of working for this huge fashion magazine. Unfortunately her job goes to Alicia, and she has to settle for a job at a financial magazine (under the umbrella as her favorite magazine if I remember correctly). The thing is, her job is writing a column about giving people financial advise when she's a shopaholic that's thousands of dollars into debt because of her habit. This movie then turns into a torture porn that doesn't make any sense:Why does Alicia hate her so much? They hardly even met, and as far as Alicia goes, Rebecca is Luke's co-worker. Despite all of that, she literally got pleasure from seeing Rebecca get embarrassed at the event. It's not even logical. Derek, the credit card guy, is being a creepy stalker for no reason what so ever. Why harass her? Doesn't he have a life or any other victims to hunt down? The most disgusting scene was when Derek stalked Rebecca on her show and asked her those humiliating questions about debt on national television. This is when RomComs go from slapstick humor, to full on torture. Nothing is funny about a girl being torn to shreds on national television and having to fight back tears. Take in mind that the only crime in this movie that Rebecca has done is shop excessively and lied, yet she gets more torture than a girl who makes fun of other girls and her own career and a girl that played puppet master to some random girl she just met just to get an ego boost. I'm done.

Isla Fisher plays Becky Bloomwood a young woman who is obsessed with shopping. She loves it so much she ends up in debt and has to get a job. So she ends up taking a position for a handsome man called Luke played by Hugh Dancy not knowing to him that there is a man after Becky for humiliating her because of her addiction of shopping. From there the two start to like each other even if there is a bit of competition from Lesile Bibbs character who also has a thing for Luke.Overall the film is plain stupid especially with the models coming alive and wanting Becky to buy a green scarf.If you love a bit of silliness than check it out. Keep an eye out for Wendy Maliack from Alvin & The Chipmunks 2 and The Emperors New Groove who plays a woman who wants Becky to stop being an addict over shopping.2/10

This is the most under-rated rom-com in the history of cinema! All the more surprising given the sparkling script and a superb supporting cast (especially the mannequins).The director deftly steered the audience to cheer the heroine all the way to the tills. It helps that Isla Fisher has such expressive naivety and impeccable comic timing. Her internal dialogues reflect the lies we tell ourselves, when we become totally "consumed" by our very own grand obsession.Whether we are shopaholics, chocoholics, or plain old alcoholics, the endorphins are released in exactly the same way. And the guilt trip afterwards slowly eats away at our self-esteem, and the drug treadmill cries out for another "high" to compensate. Of course, in calmer moments of sanity, we solemnly swear true repentance. Ultimately, our heroine's attempts at 'redemption' reflects the human fragility of impulsively doing the opposite of the promises we make to ourselves.Hugh Dancy charms us with his take on life: "Cost and worth are very different things". And I must confess that I am a movie-holic, but this film has definitely worth been watching (again).