“Who knew debt could be so much fun?â€Â the host of a fictitious talk show asks her audience in “Confessions of a Shopaholic.â€Â
Well, it really isn̢۪t, but this movie sure is.
It will probably be making its way to DVD soon, but I had the good fortune of catching it with a friend at the $3 theatre in Clovis, before it leaves town for good.
Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is drowning in credit card debt with a mountain of Prada and Gucci flooding her apartment. The only solution she can think of is to punch off an article about shoes to a couple of magazines.
Unfortunately, the magazine that responds is called “Successful Saving,â€Â something Becky knows nothing about.
But with a debt collector at her well-shod heels and a multitude of bills to own up to, she steps into the anonymous shoes of a financial guru known only as “The Girl with the Green Scarf.â€Â
Her alter ego is a success with the reading public, and also with Luke (Hugh Dancy), her hottie editor boss.
Classic slapstick hijinks ensue as Becky̢۪s lies begin to catch up with her and her creditors begin to close in.
This light-hearted comedy is fluffy, to be sure, but totally relatable, bringing home the message that shopping can indeed be an addiction.
Fisher shines as the goofy, bumbling financial world misfit. Fisher̢۪s performance brings to mind Lucille Ball with her red hair and her outlandish wardrobe and pratfalls, especially when she tries to break her credit card out of a block of ice.
John Goodman and Joan Cusack are well-cast as her equally (but adorably) bumbling parents, while Kristen Ritter is refreshingly quirky, but underused as her best friend Suze.
And although some moments in this film are sappy and clichéd enough to elicit a groan (or hysterical laughter, in the case of my friend), there is enough bounce and sass in “Confessions of a Shopaholicâ€Â to more than make up for it.
But gentlemen, beware. This is a chick flick in every sense of the word, but also a delightfully screwball one.