Plot: What’s it about?
“Shopgirl” was inspired by a novella written by Steve Martin. Yes, that one. The once “wild and crazy guy” actually has a lot of talent on and off the screen. Martin has long been one of my favorite actors, not only for his choice of roles but he seems to bring a rather unique look and feel to most every character he plays. Take, for instance, his turn as a true bad guy in “The Spanish Prisoner” and contrast it with Navin R. Johnson in “The Jerk”. Not many actors have characters that diverse on their resume. “Shopgirl” is a diamond in the rough, a movie that seems to speak to men and women equally and what it says about the relations between men and women will most likely differ on what sex you are. The movie was directed by Anand Tucker who directed a favorite of mine from a few years back, “Hilary & Jackie” – another slow-paced character-driven story about two sisters with musical gifts. Perhaps the best performance is by Jason Schwartzman, who I love to see in essentially everything he’s in. He has this quirkiness to him and a great gift for comedy as well as drama.
“Shopgirl” follows Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a transplant in Los Angeles originally from Vermont. She’s an aspiring artist, but stuck in a dead end job at Saks Fifth Avenue selling gloves. Mirabelle meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman) while doing laundry, they talk and go out on a date later. Jeremy breaks every rule of dating, honking the horn for her to hurry to her car. He asks to borrow money, doesn’t return the compliment when she tells him he looks nice, etc. But Mirabelle is lonely and the two end up having a halfway decent time together. Its then that Ray Porter (Steve Martin) shows up at work, buys a pair of gloves and sends them to her house. Ray is everything Jeremy isn’t – he’s charming, a millionaire, well-mannered – essentially everything a woman is looking for in a man. He takes her to dinner in Beverly Hills and the two start a sexual relationship, though Ray feels as if he’s made it clear to her that he doesn’t really want anything more. Mirabelle must then wrestle with the situation as to what’s best for her and, suffice it to say, I won’t give away the ending.
“Shopgirl” caught me off guard, I took a chance and watched a movie that I wasn’t sure if I’d like and it turned out for the best. The performances are great, as is the story based on Steve Martin’s novella. There are several differences between men and women and more that I discover every day. The movie begs the question that if something is agreed upon, it’s it morally ok to do? Well, it’s a matter of perspective of course. The movie shows that you don’t need action scenes, car chases and explosions to make a good movie – just a good story and the right actors for the part. I’m thinking and hoping that “Shopgirl” will find an audience on DVD as it didn’t light up the box office last Fall. Steve Martin, Clare Danes and Jason Schwartzman are all in great form and perfect for their respective parts and it’s the main reason I found “Shopgirl” so enjoyable.
Video: How does it look?
“Shopgirl” is shown in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that looks pretty good. There are several scenic shots of downtown Los Angeles which is always interesting to look at. I found the flesh tones a bit muted during a few scenes, but nothing too bad. There was a lack of edge enhancement and the colors were bright and vivid. The green on Mirabelle’s walls seems to leap off the screen! This is consistent with a day and date DVD release, no major complaints here as Disney has given us a good-looking transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
A Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is used and for the most part it’s pretty good. A majority of the movie is dialogue driven, but there are a few instances in which the soundtrack takes over (there are several good songs played during some interludes) and gets a chance to shine. The majority of the sound was in the front stage as one might expect, it’s essentially a good surround mix but nothing that was really memorable about it.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The DVD doesn’t include a lot of supplements but it’s the quality of them and not the quantity. First off is an audio commentary with director Anand Tucker as he explains the process of adapting the novella to the screen. This is shown in more detail in the included featurette “Evolution of a Novella: The Making of ‘Shopgirl’”. While this has the standard behind the scenes featurette information, it also shows us how the movie came to be and an interview with Martin as he tells us his inspiration for writing it. There are a few deleted scenes as well.
