Shopgirl (2005)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Sadly Over-hyped

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

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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 always been a fan of Steve Martin so gave this a viewing and was greatly disappointed. Am really surprised these got such high ratings; maybe I am missing something.As a man I can only guess what would attract a younger girl to an older man. Perhaps it is the worldliness, wisdom and knowledge of art that attracted Lee to Frederick in "Hannah & Her Sisters"; Tom Cruise and George Clooney are already in their 50s and still have their looks as did Robert Redford in "Indecent Proposal"; Steve Martin in his previous persona's was carefree, youthful, immature and hilariously funny.Ray had none of these things. Looks, worldliness, charm. Only money. In fact the entire relationship was built around an exchange of gifts and money for sex. Typical dialogue included "Do you want to see my house?" or "Do you want to come with me to New York?". But who can wrong him; he was honest from the start that he was not interested in a long term relationship, only a casual one in return for gloves, restaurant visits and a student loan payoff. At best what differentiate her from the Bridgette Wilson character was not knowingly gold digging. As expensive as his San Francisco home must be, it was hardly an exotic location that would sweep a woman off her feet nor was the takeaway and wine dinner.In some way I feel that Martin's lovable history meant that viewers gave him the benefit of the doubt for a good 20-30mins into the film; without that, he would have seen a like a predatory stalker from the go.

Shopgirl is memorable for the sole purpose of showcasing Steve Martin's incredible ability to create simple setups with sly wit and capable performances. Based on his novella of the same name, Shopgirl certainly has a premise with substantial ideas sure to bring light a wide range of material, monologues, and emotions, yet the problems that plague the film ultimately stunt the film's ability to succeed.The story revolves around Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a woman working at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills soliciting gloves that could probably only be afforded by the one percent of America, hoping to pay off her mountain of debt. In comes two men who will play a very important role in her life, one of them a socially inept self-employed artist she meets at a laundromat named Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman). The other is a successful, wealthy logician named Ray (Steve Martin).Both of these men bring very different benefits to Mirabelle, and both of them ultimately lack the same quality. Jeremy is the poster-child of quirky hipsters, aimlessly wandering in the uncertain circle of life, providing Mirabelle with biting, eccentric charm, while Ray has enough wealth to shower her with gifts, but fails to commit to anything more than a flirt taken to the next level. What both these men lack is the ability to give Mirabelle authentic love, and are both shallow when it comes to the idea of commitment and the skill of adapting to life's erratic ways.In terms of character development, the film provides some, yet what personally soured it were the character's personalities which were remarkably unremarkable. Ray is a decidedly bland, rich archetype, Jeremy is a rather annoying soul, and the audience isn't too preoccupied with Mirabelle's scenario, which turns from solidly constructed to bitterly formulaic by the latter-half.There's also a problem with many of the dialog scenes which I must go into once more. It seems more and more today, the most recent examples being Terri and The Myth of the American Sleepover, respectively, when characters talk to each other, there is a long, abrupt, unnatural pause between their conversations. It throws off the continuity and the realism of the conversation if prior to a character's response there's a two to three second pause. It's not real, it's not cute, it's cloying and artificial.To examine Shopgirl as a romantic comedy is a foolish and invalid move; it's a drama, with relationships in the foreground. It lacks the romance, the feel, and the formula of one of the genre-pieces; a notable feat, for sure. Its solid performances are aplenty, its strangely greenish-tint adds a nice texture to the cinematography, and the whole film can be summed up with the phrase "offbeat." Unfortunately, there's not enough in the way of tolerable characterization, emotional leverage, and true charisma to warrant a recommendation.Starring: Claire Danes, Steve Martin, and Jason Schwartzman. Directed by: Anand Tucker.

Shopgirl follows the story of Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a 20-something from Vermont, as she attempts to make someone of herself in Beverley Hills. Working in the glove department at Saks, Mirabelle meets two very different men who each bring a different perspective to her life: Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a struggling artist like herself, and Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a wealthy, much older man. As Mirabelle explores her relationships with the two, she begins discover who she is and who she wants to become.Be warned, viewers: Shopgirl is no romantic comedy, as the summary on the back of the DVD and Steve Martin's presence might lead you to believe. Instead, it is a wonderfully introspective look at the nature of relationships and our ability to choose what to make of ourselves. Claire Danes gives an engrossing performance in her role as the naive yet engaging Mirabelle, who begins as an ordinary shopgirl yearning to be someone. Danes has a quiet elegance about her that feels completely feminine, and it is easy for the audience to empathize with her character. Schwartzman, meanwhile, is successfully annoying as the scruffy Jeremy, but ultimately proves to Mirabelle and the audience that he is worth considering.My only gripe is Steve Martin as Ray Porter, a charming, older man who pursues Danes' character but keeps her at a distance at the same time. Martin wrote the script based on his novella of the same name, and is also the narrator of the film. This, I think, is quite redundant and self-gratifying (albeit perhaps unintentionally). The love scenes between Ray and Mirabelle are also a little awkward - it would have been better with a different actor, especially knowing that Martin created the characters. Nevertheless, Ray doesn't turn out to be a creep or a sugar daddy, and his relationship with Mirabelle is realistic. Both Martin's and Danes' performances are elegant and nuanced.Shopgirl is slow-paced, darkly humorous, and truthful without trying. Despite its premise, it doesn't turn into a bitter social commentary; indeed, as someone previously mentioned, it might remind one of Lost in Translation. The script is well-done, especially the ending and the beginning, and Anand Tucker directs with a sure hand. Though it's not for everyone, Shopgirl is, in all ways, a wonderful film.