Shopgirl

Plot

A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.

Release Year: 2005

Rating: 6.5/10 (16,012 voted)

Critic's Score: 62/100

Director:
Anand Tucker

Stars: Steve Martin, Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman

Storyline
Twenty-something native Vermonter Mirabelle Buttersfield, having recently graduated from college, is finding her new life in Los Angeles not quite what she was expecting or hoping. An aspiring artist, she is barely eking out a living working as a clerk at the women's evening gloves counter at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills and thus she can barely make the payments on her massive student loans. She treats her job with a certain distance, often daydreaming as she watches the life of the rich as they shop at the store. She has made no friends, including from among her Saks colleagues, and thus lives a solitary existence, which does not assist in her dealing with her chronic clinical depression. So it is with some surprise that two men with a romantic interest in her enter her life almost simultaneously. The first is poor slacker Jeremy, who works as an amplifier salesman/font designer…

Writers: Steve Martin, Steve Martin

Cast:

Steve Martin
–

Ray Porter

Claire Danes
–

Mirabelle

Jason Schwartzman
–

Jeremy

Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
–

Lisa Cramer

Sam Bottoms
–

Dan Buttersfield

Frances Conroy
–

Catherine Buttersfield

Rebecca Pidgeon
–

Christie Richards

Samantha Shelton
–

Loki

Gina Doctor
–

Del Rey

Clyde Kusatsu
–

Mr. Agasa

Romy Rosemont
–

Loan Officer

Joshua Snyder
–

Trey Bryan

Rachel Nichols
–

Trey's Girlfriend

Shane Edelman
–

Chet

Emily Kuroda
–

Japanese Woman

Taglines:
Relationships don't always fit like a glove.

Details

Official Website:
Touchstone Pictures [United States] |

Release Date: 21 October 2005

Filming Locations: 1630 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Opening Weekend: $229,685
(USA)
(23 October 2005)
(8 Screens)

Gross: $10,281,585
(USA)
(19 March 2006)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Did You Know?

Trivia:

Steve Martin had Tom Hanks in mind to play Ray Porter, but as the film's development progressed, he felt he was better suited to play the part since he was so familiar with the work.

Goofs:

Continuity:
When Jeremy come back from getting a condom you can see Mirabelle sitting cross-legged with her elbows at her knees in the mirror reflection, but the immediate shot afterwards shows her with her elbows resting on her upper thighs and positioned much closer to the wall. Then she leans back with her legs to the right, but on the close-up, her legs are now going to her left.

Quotes:

Mirabelle:
Are you the kind of person that takes time to get to know, and then once you get to know them… they're fabulous?

Jeremy Kraft:
Yes, absolutely… What?

User Review

It will be as misunderstood as Lost in Translation

Rating: 8/10

Let me make this easy for you. Shopgirl reminds me a lot of Lost in
Translation.

With one sentence, I am sure I have turned off more than a handful of
people that are now searching other movie titles of interest.

Funny really. Lost in Translation was one of those films that the
critics adored. It was a quiet and quaint film that delivered an
absorbing story without explosions or over drawn out comedic moments.

Yet, it was one of those films that I could not find a casual film
watcher enjoyed. Or even understood for that matter.

I think it was due to its pacing and under toned performances by the
two leads. Nothing was forced either in conversation and in turn, back
down the audience's throat. Instead, it just went about telling the
story of two people who happened to meet and make a connection.

Shopgirl is not dissimilar. The story (based on a novella by Steve
Martin) concerns well, a shopgirl at Saks Fifth Avenue named Mirabelle
(played wonderfully by Claire Danes). Fresh from Vermont and trying to
make it as an artist in the hustle and bustle that is Los Angeles,
Mirabelle in the span of just a few days goes from someone of plain
existence that the world seems to have ignored to being the apple in
the eyes of two suitors that couldn't be more different from each
other.

In one corner and out of the gate first is Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman of
Betwitched fame). Jeremy is the dirty weird guy that you meet in a
laundromat. He seems nervous when he talks to women and his idea of a
date is anything under the eight dollars he has in his wallet.

In the other corner is Ray Porter (Steve Martin). Ray shows up at Saks
one day and makes a purchase from Mirabelle that ends up on her
doorstep with an invitation of dinner soon after. Porter is loaded and
in his courtship of Mirabelle he is able to lavish her with gifts
beyond her accepted imagination.

But under the surface, the two suitors are even further apart than
their bank balances would suggest. Porter is a man of high society who
is always looking for the 'next thing' without any regard to those to
which he is involved with at the time. Meanwhile, Jeremy is as sincere
as it comes. He wears his heart on his sleeve and tries hard to learn
about relationships in hopes of winning over the very impressionable
Mirabelle.

The story then sculpts Mirabelle's highs and lows with both men leading
to her ultimate decision that is both logical and acceptable even if
projected right from the opening chapters.

Shopgirl is one of those guilty pleasures. It's good storytelling
without MTV songs ringing in our ears or tragic moments that define
ones future decisions. It is based in reality. Or as close to reality
that Los Angeles allows.

And much like Lost in Translation, Shopgirl's backbone is the strength
of the lead actors. In particular Claire Danes, who will give Charlize
Theron a run for the gold when the awards season beings in just a few
weeks. As Mirabelle, she is able to project vulnerability and
confidence while exuding emotions of emotional pain and heartfelt love
that grounds her performance allowing us to understand her decisions
even if they don't all turn out to her benefit.

The result is one of the quietest and best films of the year that much
like Lost, no one will see until it starts running on satellite early
next year.

www.gregsrants.com