Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

Director:

P.J. Hogan

Writers (WGA):

Tracey Jackson (screenplay) and
Tim Firth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

All she ever wanted was a little credit...

Plot:

A college grad lands a job as a financial journalist in New York City to support where she nurtures her shopping addiction and falls for a wealthy entrepreneur.

Plot Keywords:

Shopping | Journalist | Credit Card | Financial Journalist | New York City

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Isla Fisher	...	Rebecca Bloomwood
Hugh Dancy	...	Luke Brandon
Krysten Ritter	...	Suze
Joan Cusack	...	Jane Bloomwood
John Goodman	...	Graham Bloomwood
John Lithgow	...	Edgar West
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Alette Naylor
Fred Armisen	...	Ryan Koenig
Leslie Bibb	...	Alicia Billington
Lynn Redgrave	...	Drunken Lady at Ball
Robert Stanton	...	Derek Smeath
Julie Hagerty	...	Hayley
Nick Cornish	...	Tarquin
Wendie Malick	...	Miss Korch
Clea Lewis	...	Miss Ptaszinski

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and thematic elements.

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Finnish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #44816) | Ireland:PG | UK:PG | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Netherlands:AL | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | South Africa:PG | Singapore:PG | Norway:A | Sweden:Btl | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Belgium:KT | Mexico:A | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Germany:6 | France:U | Peru:PT

Filming Locations:

Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Kirsten Dunst, Katie Holmes, Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lindsay Lohan were all considered for the lead role.

Goofs:

Continuity: While Rebecca is in the interview at Successful Savings you can see that the desk behind her becomes occupied and unoccupied as each shot comes back to Rebecca. The desk is occupied with Hayley talking on the phone with the green scarf on her lap and in the next shot she's nowhere to be found but in the following shot she's at the door giving Rebecca her scarf.

Quotes:

Rebecca Bloomwood: I know I've made some mistakes, but I"m turning my life around.

Movie Connections:

References Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Soundtrack:

Batman Theme

Should make Melanie Griffith proud.

Being a non-shopper, I can hardly call myself expert on the parsing of a shopaholic in Confessions of a Shopaholic. But this I can say: Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is an addict of major proportions, unable to let go of the exhilaration that shopping brings, a feeling that the world is better for her purchases.

The film is a cliché from the get go, as corny as could possibly be about 25 year old writer Rebecca with the shopping affliction who eventually meets her dream man through a series of subterfuges that would make Melanie Griffith's Tess in Working Girl proud. What saves the film from my scourge, which did not spare the recent Pink Panther 2, is Isla Fisher, who plays dangerous innocence with sincerity and fresh-facedness that makes even Anne Hathaway's Devil Wears Prada role seem downright Machiavellian.

Confessions has this going for it: Although it is not a Judd Apatow comedy with some layers of sophisticated social comedy, it has moments of laughter and social conscience. Coming as it does amidst the worst recession in decades, in which shopping would be a welcome antidote to the fear of spending that exacerbates the recession, Confessions almost makes a case for credit spending; then again maybe such encouragement is not a good thing for shopaholics.