Vonia Any serious reader knows that the book is usually better than the film. It is the rare exception that even holds its own. Rarer still are the films that are on par or better than the book. Shopgirl is one of these. There are a couple reasons why I think this is so. One, Steve Martin. The genius behind the writing for both the novella and the screenplay. Since he wrote both, the two are actually very similar. Steve Martin plays Ray Porter, the older love interest for conservative, somewhat innocent Mirabelle. (The response she provides when her bold and vindictive co-worker tries giving her tips on how to use men really says it all: "I am from Vermont.") He perfectly plays the awkward older man that truly does not want to hurt the younger beautiful girl, but he is wise only in the ways of courting and treating a girl in materialistic ways. When it comes to matters of the heart, he is as lost as a needle in a haystack. He also does a few voice-overs in the film, all direct quotes from the book. Here are some of my favorites, the ones that best exemplify Martin's impressive understanding of both the female psyche and the dynamics of relationships. "A woman needs to be held, even if it is with someone she does not care about. Protective hormones are released, and the amount of hormones released depends on the degree to which she is held. The first and best is the complete surround. He wraps you in both arms, whispers how beautiful you are. Second best is the 'arm around.' He is next to you but with one arm around you. The third is he's next to you on his elbow, but he rests his hand on your stomach and looks at you. Fourth is you snuggling up to him with your head on his chest, while he looks away into space. But when the first best happens, you feel completely, wonderfully like a woman." "Mirabelle Buttersfield moved from Vermont hoping to begin her life. And now she is stranded in the vast openness of Los Angeles. She keeps working to make connections, but the pile of near misses is starting to overwhelm her. What Mirabelle needs is an omniscient voice to illuminate and spotlight her and to inform everyone that this one has value, this one standing behind the counter in the glove department and to find her counterpart and bring him to her." Mirabelle: Are we going in? Jeremy Kraft: Go in? Oh, no. I just thought we'd look at it. Mirabelle: So. . .we would just sit here, then? Jeremy Kraft: Yeah, or walk around. This place is called City Walk. It got eight out of ten in my date book. It's not called "City-Go- and-See-a-Movie". Tickets are, like, ten bucks too, so. "Some nights alone he thinks of her, and some nights alone she thinks of him. Some nights these thoughts occur at the same moment and Ray and Mirabelle are connected without ever knowing it." "How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone he would not miss her. Only then does he realize that wanting part of her and not all of her had hurt them both." Two, Claire Danes. I have never really been awed by her in her more famous roles. Perhaps that was the problem, though. She does best in subtle roles. In an understated way, she brings magic to the character and her story. Three, the visual representation was a great medium to convey the striking contrast between Ray Porter's rich lifestyle and the careless, scattered, unrefined circumstances Jeremy Kraft chooses. Pair these with the world Mirabelle Butterfield inhabits, which is somewhere between the two, and we have the basis of the story. Roger Ebert has written a review that echoed my thoughts almost entirely, so to minimize redundancy, here are what I deem to be our thoughts: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shopgirl-2005 I am not a huge fan of Jason Schwartzman, but here he was not as excessive as he usually is, doing well as a loser of a guy not well versed in the ways of treating a girl who eventually learns the error of his ways (during a road trip with a band while he listens to self-help audio books) and redeems himself with his girl. With Steve Martin's soothing voice-overs, the gorgeous shots of Los Angeles, a few hilarious awkward scenes balancing the more serious and sentimental ones, the overhead shots where the camera floats above Mirabelle's apartment and then drifts inside, there was a playful and whimsical feel to the film, even mystical at times. I am sure most viewers were not as impressed by this film as I was because they wanted more to happen. Unfortunately for them for missing out- but fortunately for Steve Martin and me- we know that less is often more.

Charles Herold (cherold) Watching Shopgirl is like watching someone give an apology in which they use the word "me" more than the word "you." You know, "it's made me feel really bad and I've learned a lot about myself and I regret the way my actions ..." The movie has an autobiographical feel, so one assumes Martin on at least one occasion had a relationship with a much younger woman who took things more seriously than he did. And he has regrets.One of those regrets should probably be not being able to see that woman as a human being, judging by his script, which offers no personality for Claire Danes as the young woman. Which she is the film's main character, and is pursued by two very different men, there is no sense of who she really is. Danes brings a sweet vulnerability to the character, but if you like her, that's all Danes doing; Martin has give her nothing to work with.To be fair, Martin hasn't written a character for himself either. It appears he cannot write straight dramatic characters, leaving all the personality in the hands of a schlub (Jason Schwartzman) and caricaturish gold digger who seems to have wandered in from a different movie.This is not to say that Shopgirl isn't sometimes likable enough. Schwartzman is sometimes amusing and there are occasional good scenes and lines, making the whole thing perfectly watchable. At the same time, there is an intrusive and unnecessary narration, an overwrought score, and an ending that just peters out.Not that Martin thinks the ending is petering out. It's clear he feels like he's saying something profound. It feels as though this is an autobiographical piece in which he's trying to take responsibility for his failings. But even though the movie stars Danes, it only cares about what the two men courting her feel, while she remains a featureless enigma. As a movie, it's mediocre. As an apology, it's terrible. And it's a shame that Martin got enough good reviews from it that he can pat himself on the back and he goes through life thinking, as many people do, that he's changed and come to realizations when he is just making the same mistakes in a different way.(If you really want to see a great description of how the movie fails, read Ty Burr's terrific review in the Boston Globe. He totally nails it.)

yoel marson 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.

HOUDINI1874 Romantic comedies are difficult to review: it's easier to analyze the story than critique its aesthetic, and one is nearly indistinguishable from the next, with very few exceptions. Case in point: Shopgirl. Surprisingly, despite Steve Martin's trilogy of collaboration to the film, his usual wild-and-crazy-guy comedy is scarce, even more so than his previous "serious" films. This time around, he gives us a collection of characters that are so visceral and relatable, they seem to jump off the screen and into our lives. The result is deep emotional insight into our perspectives of relationships.Steve Martin is Ray Porter, a wealthy older man, charmingly reserved in his demeanor, working as a "symbolic logician" which enables him to calculate any given situation in his mind as mathematical equations. Claire Danes is Mirabelle Buttersfield, the exemplary wonderful yet unlucky young woman desperately anticipating an imminent romantic happening, even so desperate as to sleep with a slacker with a momentary condom predicament. Jason Schwartzman is said slacker, Jeremy, who embodies the typical mid-twenties free spirited fellow, whose lazily good-hearted nature is almost completely hidden by antics of swing-and-miss efforts toward intimacy.After this generously paced trio of introductions, the story unfolds with very real, human moments of emotion and reaction. After the excruciatingly awkward Jeremy, we move onto Mirabelle's next suitor, Ray, and the film takes a much-appreciated sharp turn towards class and moderate sophistication. Ray is charming, articulate, and "after Mirabelle sizes him up, no alarm bells sound." Probably the most important key scene is when Mirabelle is certainly beginning to fall for him. The lead-in shots delineate quite clearly that they are going to have sex. Standard enough, but the scene is anything but. Elegant, artistic, and tasteful, she waits for him on his bed, completely submissive and vulnerable—naked physically and emotionally—she is surrounded by a red wall; the symbolism speaks for itself, in a vibrant, cinematic voice. This moment, with Steve Martin's heart-warming reaction to her and music to match, is as taming and beautiful as a romantic scene can possibly be.It is around this time when we start to see Jeremy's side story cutaways regularly, something the film could easily have done without. The manner in which his character evolves is far from mature or genuine. Reciting lines from dating and self-help books on her voice mail hoping to win her over while sounding like he still hasn't a care in the world? Oh, how cute. What made me cringe is the thought that some girls would probably fall for it.All we really care to follow is what happens between Mirabelle and Ray, their situation constantly growing in complexity as time goes on, due to the fact that Ray has no intention on a serious relationship, whereas Mirabelle obviously appears to have the opposite idea, yet simultaneously seems to be in denial. What adds to the complexity? Ray begins to care about (and for) her. This father figure complex could be too much to handle for most any man.The film progresses characteristically like a relationship: freely moving, unpredictable, with bittersweet heartache and hope together, the occasional bombshell dropped, and a decent amount of uncertainty. Is Ray thinking of her while he's away? Will Mirabelle continue this girlish inclination of unspoken inner thought? And as stated amongst her friends, how will he react if she calls him 'sweetheart'? Also, note the development of aesthetic details. Namely Mirabelle's perspective on things as shown via color schemes, as well as how her clothing, or sometimes lack thereof, reflects her emotional reaction to a given situation. With the last several tear jerking lines, the film is certain to leave the audience with the one prominent lingering thought: Steve Martin is one amazing writer, actor, and it is because of him that this film holds far more currency than the modern chick flick.On the surface, and strictly in words, the above may sound like typical romance movie cheese. However, if you thought When Harry Met Sally was too funny to be taken seriously, or if… well, if most any other romance movie was too painful to swallow its sap, Shopgirl is an ideal film, thoroughly enjoyable, and definitely NOT cheese. I'd love to clearly express this further, but this review's getting long, and I'm no Steve Martin.