Movie Reviews: "Confessions Of A Shopaholic"

[JamesG]

Movie Reviews: Confessions Of A Shopaholic
13 February 2009 1:35 AM, PST


Even female critics don't seem to care much for the latest "chick flick," Confessions of a Shopaholic, and many complain that it's atrociously timed.

Elizabeth Weitzman writes in the New York Daily News: "When every dollar counts, do you want to spend twelve bucks on a movie that's not really worth it?"

Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer calls the movie "a cut-rate version of The Devil Wears Prada."

And Linda Barnard concludes her review in the Toronto Star by observing that the movie's biggest problem is the current financial crisis -- "much of it the result of greed and ill-advised overspending on credit. ... It's very hard to watch a wild-eyed woman engage in an orgy of avarice using a fan of maxed-out cards when so many have lost so much."

And Cathy Frisinger writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "At a time when a lot of women could use a really stylish, fun, escapist story, Shopaholic is a disappointment. Hogan and his writers could have used a bailout of ideas."

And Jessica Reaves in the Chicago Tribune describes the movie as "a thin, largely unfunny comedy that marries lazy filmmaking with bad timing."

On the other hand, Betsy Sharkey in the Los Angeles Times calls the movie "a knockabout farce ... a cleverly constructed catwalk of a romantic comedy." She concludes: "Though you might wonder whether there's room in a movie marketplace that already feels overstocked with romantic comedies, Confessions of a Shopaholic arrives fashionably late and dressed to kill."

-IMDB News

[JamesG]

Fisher Fends Off Shopaholic Criticism
17 February 2009 4:10 AM, PST


Isla Fisher has defended her film Confessions Of A Shopaholic after critics branded the movie's release inappropriate during the current financial crisis.

In the film, the actress plays Becky Bloomwood, a financial journalist who struggles to keep her shopping addiction under control.

But Fisher is adamant the timing of the movie is perfect - because audiences can learn something from her character’s spending habits.

She tells WENN, “The character is learning lessons about consumption and debt like the rest of us right now. It feels fairly topical. Obviously the movie was conceived during a different economic period but she learns her lesson. It is a redemption story.”

And Fisher’s co-star Hugh Dancy, who plays her love interest in the big screen adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's books, argues that the light-hearted movie can provide escape to those hit hard by the economic climate.

He adds: "We were not attempting to make an educational movie or documentary but the message is very simple: There are more important things than shopping and clothes. But this is a comedy first and foremost."

-IMDB News