Shopgirl

I watched Steve Martin's Shopgirl the other night. I have to admit that after selling books for 8 1/2 years I was a little skeptical about the book and the movie. I didn't really think I wanted to watch or read something that Steve Martin created but I had a free coupon for Blockbuster, and I picked this film.

First off the basic story is about a lonely artist gal from Vermont who works the glove counter at Saks Fifth Avenue. During the course of the movie she is involved with two men who could not be more different from one another. There is an older gent in his 50's who is well to do and worldly and a twentysomething bizarro boy who is pretty flighty.

The movie did a few things very well. The representation of what it is like to live in a big city as a gal all on her own was spot on. The comparison of the two different suitors demonstrated how it is possible to adapt and have your needs met in most situations (sometimes effectively and sometimes not so effectively.) There was a very nice depiction of what depression looks like as an illness which differs from many films that show depression as a result of a specific event. And of course there are some really beautiful views of Los Angeles that can't be beat.

My only real criticism is totally a "me thing" and revolves around Claire Danes' wardrobe. She looked so painfully lanky and thin in the film and they did a bad job dressing her. She wore many housecoat-like collared vintage dresses that made her look like a stick of linguine. There were a few more modern outfits that were flattering, but I couldn't seem to get past the pasta outfits. This certainly wouldn't bother many people, and had literally nothing to do with the film, but it annoyed the crap out of me.

So, thumbs up for the film. A very realistic picture.