Shopgirl (2005)

Director:

Anand Tucker

Writers (WGA):

Steve Martin (novel)
Steve Martin (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Relationships don't always fit like a glove.

Plot:

A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.

Plot Keywords:

Gloves | Road Trip | Artist | Vermont | Laundromat

Awards:

5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 19

6:30 AM

USA

Cast

Steve Martin	...	Ray Porter
Claire Danes	...	Mirabelle
Jason Schwartzman	...	Jeremy
Bridgette Wilson	...	Lisa Cramer (as Bridgette Wilson-Sampras)
Sam Bottoms	...	Dan Buttersfield
Frances Conroy	...	Catherine Buttersfield
Rebecca Pidgeon	...	Christie Richards
Samantha Shelton	...	Loki
Gina Doctor	...	Del Rey
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Mr. Agasa
Romy Rosemont	...	Loan Officer
Joshua Snyder	...	Trey Bryan
Rachel Nichols	...	Trey's Girlfriend
Shane Edelman	...	Chet
Emily Kuroda	...	Japanese Woman

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content and brief language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Germany:o.Al. | Brazil:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | South Korea:15 | USA:R (certificate #41828) | Sweden:11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

1630 Griffith Park Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Jimmy Fallon was cast as Jeremy but dropped out before filming began.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mirabelle turns and walks towards Jeremy after her final meeting with Ray, an aerial shot shows Jeremy to be raising his arms to embrace her. In the next shot, his arms are at his sides.

Quotes:

Ray Porter: Mirabelle Buttersfield moved from Vermont hoping to begin her life. And now she is stranded in the vast openness of LA. 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.

Movie Connections:

References "My So-Called Life" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Somewhere in My Heart

Lost in the Vast Openness

Greetings again from the darkness. Gotta hand it to 60 year old Steve Martin. He cranks out the easy hits like "Father of the Bride" and "Cheaper by the Dozen" so that he can do his own pet projects like the underrated "Bowfinger" and now "Shopgirl". Based on his own novella, Martin explores the mid-life fantasy of a powerful, rich businessman who takes on a beautiful, younger, unspoiled country girl from Vermont.

While the insight into quiet desperation is always fascinating, Martin's script fails to really show any human connection between the three leads. Martin's own character, while easily the most privileged, is far and away the most distant and least interesting. The always interesting Claire Danes desperately wants to be loved and escape the ever-present cold existence of Vermont which continues to haunt her. Jason Schwartzman (fast cornering the market on quirky to the point of annoying dudes) is initially enamored with the idea of being with Claire (or anyone) but goes on the road with a rock band and finds himself ... or at least educates himself on how to fit into society.

Not sure if any of the characters have any real redeeming qualities, but they do make for moderately interesting film-making. Bridgette Wilson (Mrs. Pete Sampras) has a fluffy role as the envious make-up queen, Sam Bottoms makes a rare screen appearance as Danes say-little Dad and Francis Conroy (Beautiful Flowers, Six Feet Under) has a brief appearance as Daines Mom. Interesting side note is that Rebecca Pigeon has a small role ... she is the real life wife of the great David Mamet.

Although, the lighting is atrocious and distracting in most every scene, you do find yourself hoping that someone, ANYONE, discovers a moment of real happiness. Yes, this story could have been better presented, but it is worth watching to view first hand how people pretend to connect.