Shopgirl (2005)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I say a pretty woman in a love triangle bouncing back and forth between a rich old fart and a young man; you guess the plot. The young woman initially gives a try to the greasy waste bag but seeing no future with him switches to the sugar daddy who buys her expensive gifts and pays up her student loan. She seems to be in love with him, however he seeks nothing but sex with her. As much as it sounds plausible, I have a problem with this plot. First of all, S. Martin character doesn't look like a man over fifties but rather over mid sixties. With his thinning white hair and sagging belly, he finds a young pretty girl who is genuinely in love with him (at least in the movie) and still sleeps around. He is also honest enough to disclose his infidelity and screw up the relation. Listen grandpa: you can be filthy rich as to travel in your private jet and buy the Vogue cover girls but you can't still find a real woman who'd love you for who you are. Then, what else are you looking for and jerk around with other women? At your old age, just stick to her until the day you fade away. Apparently, S. Martin thinks too highly of himself and creates this silly old character. Finally, are these two the only two options in her life? Why does she go back to the loser ? You may argue, he seems to do better with suits and a car towards the end of the movie but he still looks like a type who'd be pissing in his kitchen sink for the sake of convenience. Worst, there seems no chemistry or bonding between C. Danes and the young grease bag. OK, people do much more stupid things in their lives than what I described here but some things don't seem to add to me with the way things happen in the movie.

Any serious reader knows that the book is usually better than the film. It is the rare exception that even holds its own. Rarer still are the films that are on par or better than the book. Shopgirl is one of these. There are a couple reasons why I think this is so. One, Steve Martin. The genius behind the writing for both the novella and the screenplay. Since he wrote both, the two are actually very similar. Steve Martin plays Ray Porter, the older love interest for conservative, somewhat innocent Mirabelle. (The response she provides when her bold and vindictive co-worker tries giving her tips on how to use men really says it all: "I am from Vermont.") He perfectly plays the awkward older man that truly does not want to hurt the younger beautiful girl, but he is wise only in the ways of courting and treating a girl in materialistic ways. When it comes to matters of the heart, he is as lost as a needle in a haystack. He also does a few voice-overs in the film, all direct quotes from the book. Here are some of my favorites, the ones that best exemplify Martin's impressive understanding of both the female psyche and the dynamics of relationships. "A woman needs to be held, even if it is with someone she does not care about. Protective hormones are released, and the amount of hormones released depends on the degree to which she is held. The first and best is the complete surround. He wraps you in both arms, whispers how beautiful you are. Second best is the 'arm around.' He is next to you but with one arm around you. The third is he's next to you on his elbow, but he rests his hand on your stomach and looks at you. Fourth is you snuggling up to him with your head on his chest, while he looks away into space. But when the first best happens, you feel completely, wonderfully like a woman." "Mirabelle Buttersfield moved from Vermont hoping to begin her life. And now she is stranded in the vast openness of Los Angeles. She keeps working to make connections, but the pile of near misses is starting to overwhelm her. What Mirabelle needs is an omniscient voice to illuminate and spotlight her and to inform everyone that this one has value, this one standing behind the counter in the glove department and to find her counterpart and bring him to her." Mirabelle: Are we going in? Jeremy Kraft: Go in? Oh, no. I just thought we'd look at it. Mirabelle: So. . .we would just sit here, then? Jeremy Kraft: Yeah, or walk around. This place is called City Walk. It got eight out of ten in my date book. It's not called "City-Go- and-See-a-Movie". Tickets are, like, ten bucks too, so. "Some nights alone he thinks of her, and some nights alone she thinks of him. Some nights these thoughts occur at the same moment and Ray and Mirabelle are connected without ever knowing it." "How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone he would not miss her. Only then does he realize that wanting part of her and not all of her had hurt them both." Two, Claire Danes. I have never really been awed by her in her more famous roles. Perhaps that was the problem, though. She does best in subtle roles. In an understated way, she brings magic to the character and her story. Three, the visual representation was a great medium to convey the striking contrast between Ray Porter's rich lifestyle and the careless, scattered, unrefined circumstances Jeremy Kraft chooses. Pair these with the world Mirabelle Butterfield inhabits, which is somewhere between the two, and we have the basis of the story. Roger Ebert has written a review that echoed my thoughts almost entirely, so to minimize redundancy, here are what I deem to be our thoughts: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shopgirl-2005 I am not a huge fan of Jason Schwartzman, but here he was not as excessive as he usually is, doing well as a loser of a guy not well versed in the ways of treating a girl who eventually learns the error of his ways (during a road trip with a band while he listens to self-help audio books) and redeems himself with his girl. With Steve Martin's soothing voice-overs, the gorgeous shots of Los Angeles, a few hilarious awkward scenes balancing the more serious and sentimental ones, the overhead shots where the camera floats above Mirabelle's apartment and then drifts inside, there was a playful and whimsical feel to the film, even mystical at times. I am sure most viewers were not as impressed by this film as I was because they wanted more to happen. Unfortunately for them for missing out- but fortunately for Steve Martin and me- we know that less is often more.

Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is a lonely girl from small town Vermont working at the glove counter in L.A. Saks and heavily in student debt. She meets flighty artistic Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman) at the laundromat. Ray Porter (Steve Martin) is a rich older gentleman. He buys a pair of gloves from Mirabelle and gifts them to her. They begin a relationship but they don't necessarily see their fling the same way. Lisa Cramer (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) is the gold-digging perfume girl.It's a pretty little movie. Danes is such a lovely girl. The visual look is neatly beautiful. If there is any deficiency, the guys are not worthy of Danes. Schwartzman is playing his man-child character. Martin is too old and too distant. As a romance, it's hard to root for either of them to end up with Danes. In fact, I would rather that she walks off into the sunset on her own.

I have had a very hectic life since the year this movie debuted, so it is no wonder I am just seeing it now! I have seen, "Shop Girl," three times, in as many weeks, and it continues to mesmerize me.I do not think I have ever seen Steve Martin is a serious role, but in this one, he wins not only my heart, but also, my soul.Brilliant casting directing---hauntingly so! Innuendos and subtleties of feelings were perfectly conveyed on the faces of the actors---and I adored the leading lady, who cast her spell with her purity of reality.The music was selected with devout attention to feeling, and the absolutely amazing cinematography was, well, absolutely AMAZING! I still see the swirling of the water---and wine, in my head.This movie is artistic perfection.Thank you, Steve, for making it happen! My highest salutations on everything.