SHOPGIRL

by Joe Barber on Nov.02, 2005, under Joe Barber's Movie Reviews

JOE’S REVIEW: “SHOPGIRL”

As his recent selection as this year’s winner of the Mark Twain American Humor Prize attests, Steve Martin is a clever and funny man. Not only is he an inspired comic actor, he has also been acclaimed as a serious actor, a playwright and a novelist. His first effort as an author, the novella “Shopgirl”, has been made into a film that’s just arrived on area screens.
The film takes viewers on a very different journey through the trecherous territory of the heart.

Claire Danes stars in the title role as Mirabelle Buttersfield. An unassuming young woman from the Northeastern United Stes, she moves to Los Angeles with dreams of having something unexpected and amazing happen to her. As trhe film opens, no such event has come along, so she goes about her life, working behind the counter of a high end department store in the heart of the city. Each night she returns to her plain apartment, occassionally working on her charcoal sketches and wishing for that remarkable moment-and man-to arrive.

Someone does show up, eventually, Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman fr om
“Rushmore”) is an endearingly goofy young undiscovered genius, at least in his own mind. He works as a logo designer and spends his time going to the movies. Not watching them, mind you, but sitting outside the theaters, studying the design and marquees for ideas. He makes Mirabelle feel less lonely, but still hungry for more.

“Mpre” arrrives in the form of Ray Porter (Martin), a wealthy older man who made his money in the computer software industry. Ray notices Mirabelle in the store one day, sends her a present, and begins to woo her. They seem to have terrific chemistry together, make each other laugh and she begins to gain confidence from his interest in her.

But Porter is a man who knows what love is and is capable of it, but can’t seem to completely embrace it. He tries to warn Mirabelle that their relationship has certain limits, but both of them seem to be moving past them. Meanwhile, a frustrated and rejected Jeremy stumbles into a serio-comic journey of self-discovery. As Mirabelle, Ray and Jeremy will discover, the path to where you need to be doesn’t always end where you think-or hope-it will.

Martin, who adapted his book into a screenplay and serves as the film’s off-screen narrator, and director Anand Tucker, have created a film that’s different than the customary romantic comedy. It is more like a fable about love and life, with a bit more on the line the a neatly packaged happy ending. The story and relationships unfold in subtle, understated ways that more closely resemble real life than the overheated passions and cloying cute talk many romantic films employ.

Martin’s script skimps on background details for the major characters.
Happily, the cast is up to the task of making the characters more dimensional. Danes shines as Mirabelle, creating a heroine of quiet complexity and endearing charm. Martin does an excellent job of making Ray an intriguing man of contradictions, decent and caring, yet hidden and slightly detached. Schwartzman makes Jeremy funny, but also invests him with the potential to become something more. One glaring flaw in the film is the overwrought musical score that far too often emphisizes the bittersweet elements of the story.

“Shopgirl” marks a definate step forward for its screenwriter and stars.
Deftly acted and written, it takes an overworked genre and breathes new life into it. It is the kind of pleasant surprise the movies rarely deliver these days.

MPAA RATING: R for profanity, nudity and sexual situations JOE’S RATING: THREE STARS.