:
Steve Martin,
Claire Danes,
Jason Schwartzman,
more...
:
Tim Bird,
Anand Tucker
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Touchstone / Disney
: Comedies, Drama, Romantic Comedy, Romance
: 116 min.
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Steve Martin wrote the screenplay and served as co-producer for this screen adaptation of his short novel, which takes a witty but bittersweet look at a young woman and the two men involved with her. Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is an aspiring artist in her mid-twenties who, after graduating from college, moved to Los Angeles, where she works at the glove counter of an upscale department store. Mirabelle's job is simple and not demanding, but it doesn't pay especially well, and she finds herself struggling to get out from under a growing mountain of debt from student loans and credit cards. One night, while doing her laundry, Mirabelle meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a scruffy but likable would-be musician who makes ends meet selling guitar amps. While Jeremy is obviously infatuated with Mirabelle, she isn't sure how she feels about him, especially after she meets Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a man in his fifties whom she meets at the store. Ray is independently wealthy, intelligent, and charming, and after asking her out on a date he sweeps her off her feet. However, while Mirabelle quickly falls for Ray and he's generous to a fault with her, he refuses to commit exclusively to her and suggests they should both see other people, a prospect that no longer holds much appeal for her. Shopgirl received its world premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Boring and predictable
by TCrane
April 18, 2006 - 3:45 PM PDT
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2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
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| Saw this in the theaters, and regretted it about 30 minutes into it. I was disappointed by the performances from otherwise talented actors, the writing was extremely overwritten. Tried to be some kind of modern inter-generational love story fairy tale but is so unbelievable and sterile that it comes off as mostly dull. |
| Classy and Classic
by talltale
April 14, 2006 - 1:46 PM PDT
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4 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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A wonderfully classy--perhaps even classic--look at love today (early 21st Century-style), SHOPGIRL exudes "art" from every pore. Claire Danes is thoroughly winning--intelligent, multi-faceted, real--in the lead, and she is ably supported by Jason Schwartzman, as her younger admirer, and Steve Martin, who wrote the novella on which the film is based and gives a quietly self-effacing performance as the older lover. The entire undertaking-- from Martin's script to Anand Tucker's direction and Peter Suschitzky's cinematography--has a subtle, reticent and elegant tone that makes this a pleasure to hear and watch.
The writer understands how commerce and class control our lives; he's smart enough to admit this but will not bow to it. Definitely a pass for mainstream audiences (Martin's pratfall-comedy admirers will eject the DVD in disappointment), this is a film for the true sophisticate: one who understands that kneeling at the altar of art requires neither the relinquishment of emotion nor of common sense. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.23)
101 Votes
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