Film Review--Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic
directed by P. J. Hogan
written by Tracey Jackson, Tim Firth, Kayla Alpert
starring Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Krysten Ritter, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristen Scott Thomas, Leslie Bibb, Robert Stanton

Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) loves the smell of Bloomingdale’s in the morning. She loves the carpets, drapes and especially the elegance of the mannequins and the methodology inherent in the displays of shoes, scarves and perfume. To her shopping is the closest she is ever going to get to a religious experience. Unfortunately she has spent way past her limits and is facing debt collectors, particularly a very insistent one named Derek Smeath (Stanton) whose ubiquitous presence in this film is a clear warning to all of those who find themselves purchasing things they don’t need at over 18 3/4 percent.

The film does a fine job setting up Rebecca as a little girl who refuses to grow up. She’s hysterical for much of the film because the big bad wolf is threatening her at every turn and she’s desperate to escape his clutches. But there is no way one can avoid the wolf forever; eventually he will pounce and devour his tender prey. Derek Smeath is of course that wolf and he is as persistent as a would-be suitor.

There is one purchase Rebecca makes which proves to be valuable and fortuitous. She finds a green scarf that she buys after a tremendous ordeal. She wears the scarf to an interview with Successful Saving magazine where she apprehends the man named Luke Brandon (Dancy) who gave her $20 in the street so she could buy a scarf for her sick Aunt. She stashes the scarf only to have it returned to her by a secretary. Later she writes a scathing letter to Brandon, the editor of the magazine, and submits an article to Alette magazine but manages to slip each letter into the wrong envelope. Brandon reads her article breaking down the ways in which women purchase shoes and is exceedingly impressed. She signs the article with the name, “The Girl in the Green Scarf” and it becomes an international media sensation that gives the little shoppers rag a high profile.

Rebecca lives with the terrible secret about her debt situation because she is promoting herself as a paragon of frugality. She begins to attend “Shopaholics anonymous” meetings but her first visit she spends her introductory time luxuriating over the ecstasy of finding something new to buy. Rebecca struggles with her addiction and keeps backsliding although for the most part she keeps it in check. It slowly cedes in its significance in her life leaving a massive gap that needs to be filled. Previously the shopping filled up the part of her that for most people is filled with love. As she has no room to love anything that isn’t shiny, glittery and/or expensive, everything else remains outside of her. It isn’t until she completely gets to the root of the problem that she is allowed to love.

The addiction side of this story is fascinating. Rebecca creates her own set of steps to achieving her goal of becoming debt free. She recognizes her problem, she takes steps to ensure that she doesn’t lose herself again (destroying most of her credit cards), she experiences tremendous fear over the implications of what she has done, she sabotages her relationships with everyone she cares about, she takes a drastic and painful measure in order to solve her immediate problem, she ostensibly learns from her experience and doesn’t return to her wholly reckless past.

Being a rom-com, the purpose of this film is to bring the male and female leads together for one great, scintillating kiss or embrace. It’s the main reasons these films exist for their mostly female audiences; women seem to be drawn to happily-ever-afters perhaps because they provide such an intoxicating jolt of hope and possibility. They are shiny, comforting, and warm; they are drenched with longing, achievement and tense emotional connections that resonate with women. Men are for the most part hoping to laugh but otherwise checking their watch routinely and planning their escape route.

The perils of unheeded consumption play out effectively in this film. There seems to be a message here regarding the compunction toward purchasing material goods just for the sake of it and not because any of the items are actually necessary. Rebecca spends roughly a thousand dollars per month on shoes, scarves, handbags and clothes not because she needs them but because the act of shopping fulfills a need that is otherwise not met. She is addicted to the feeling that overwhelms her when she hands over her credit card and realizes that what she has purchased belongs emphatically to her and to noone else. Yet, she knows the transaction is superfluous and this realization hits her soon after she exits the store. She fills her apartment with hope for something more than the meager existence she has eked out for herself in her new life.

Rebecca’s parents, Jane (Cusack) and Graham (Goodman) have always been frugal and responsible with their money. As a little girl Rebecca dreamed of fancy clothes, accessories, and essentially anything that spoke of glamour to her. However, her parents preached practicality above all else and she was unable to fulfill her fairy land fantasies and was routinely disappointed. There is a sense that she rebelled entirely against her parent’s position by going in the extreme opposite direction. As she sits before them anticipating that they are about to announce that they are leaving her their nest egg, which they have accumulated by a lifetime of saving, she is again disappointed when the tell her they have purchased a large RV which they have dreamed about for many years. It’s a crushing blow but not one that utterly deflates Rebecca’s sense of Self. She rebounds from the shock gallantly and ultimately lands on her feet for perhaps the first time in her entire life.

When Rebecca’s friend Suze (Ritter) announces she is getting married, she provides Rebecca with a colorful, playful bridesmaid dress. At the same time the editor of Alette magazine, Alette Naylor, convinces Rebecca to purchase a dress that costs her more than a month’s salary and which she is supposed to wear on television. At the “Shopaholics Anonymous” meeting she is forced to make a choice between the two dresses. This marks the beginning of Rebecca’s true recovery from her addiction. It also puts her firmly and squarely at rock bottom where she must gather up her resources in order to violently extract herself from her overbearing and stifling situation. She makes one final decision that alters the course of her life permanently. In dramatic fashion she unburdens herself and at least temporarily sets her self free.

The performances in this film are all impressive. Isla Fisher exudes an easy charm which makes her character infinitely likable. It’s a joy to watch Rebecca stumble about, literally tripping over her own feet and causing considerable chaos on several occasions. She starts the film as a fledgling that has fallen out of the nest. She is unable to right herself and uses shopping as a survival mechanism. Fisher captures both the sincerity of the character as well as her impetuous nature. Hugh Dancy is very charming and exceedingly grounded in this film. He exudes an easy charisma that allows his character to be a touch stone for Rebecca’s manic flights of fancy. John Goodman is rock solid and Joan Cusack is effective as a woman who has denied herself for so many years. It’s enjoyable to watch as she finally reaches a place where she can finally treat herself. Krysten Ritter is dynamic as the best friend whose role is to remind Rebecca of her excesses and casually instruct her as to the nature of her ills. Kristin Scott Thomas is the embodiment of glamor and carries herself with tremendous confidence throughout the film. John Lithgow effortlessly plays the man who pulls the strings.

Overall, this film ably comments on America’s shopping addiction through the eyes of a young girl who cannot resist the feel of a new cashmere sweater simply because it exists and she doesn’t own it. There are many such stories and they are nearly all driven by the same desire. Rebecca finds herself swamped in debt and as the film opens unable to dig herself out. She doesn’t recognize the signs of sickness until she faces the truly evil debt collectors who insidiously and incessantly stalk their victims using every form of psychological torture at their disposal. It’s telling that Derek Smeath (a brilliantly slimy name) is such a nefarious presence in this film. Perhaps it’s a comment on the tactics that credit card companies use to lure the unsuspecting into a trap of debt which is exacerbated by interest and a maddening array of charges for late payments and other minor infractions. Rebecca is simply caught up in the frantic pace of modern life and she doesn’t want to be left out. She wants only to be afforded the opportunity to at least appear that she’s up to date.