Project-Blu ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ Review, by Samantha Boss

Confessions of a Shopaholic

By: Samantha Boss, 6.21.2009

The Movie Itself:
 Editor's Note: The audio and video portions of this review were done by Nate Boss. The movie portion, extras, and closing are all performed by Samantha Boss.

Every once in a while, a film comes along that opens your eyes and touches your heart. Director P.J. Hogan, following in the footsteps of such renowned documentarians as Micheal Moore (sarcasm intended), brings you such a film. Confessions of a Shopaholic tells the gripping tale of a young woman in the prime of her life, forced to give up the thing she holds most dear in the world....her credit cards!

"I'm Rebecca Bloomwood, and I'm a shopaholic!"

Confessions of A Shopaholic follows Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), a young woman trying to climb her way up the fashion ladder. As a journalist, Becky aspires towards a coveted slot working for leading fashion magazine, 'Alette'. Unfortunately, the life she dreams of is snatched away by the dangerously perfect Alicia (Leslie Bibb).

With the termination of her job at 'Gardening Today,' and a drunken mix up, comes the opportunity to work for 'Successful Saving,' a sister magazine to 'Alette.' Becky sees this as the opportunity she needs to get her Prada covered foot in the door. She manages to show a knowledge of business and becomes "The Girl in The Green Scarf," a savvy, sophisticated, yet approachable financial journalist. In this unlikely turn of events, Becky is catapulted into a life of champagne brunches and (even more) designer duds. Not to mention a budding romance with her new boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy). Alas, Miss Bloomwood's 'Alette' career isn't the only thing Alicia's after.

The appearance of Derek Smeath (Robert Stanton), a debt collector for the bank Rebecca owes $9,412.25 throws a kink in Becky's new lifestyle . She's now forced to lie, sneak into her home, and avoid at all costs a run in with Mr. Smeath. Her deception reaches a new low as she convinces an entire staff of people to believe Mr. Smeath is a former ex-boyfriend and psychotic stalker, who eventually exposes her duplicity, bringing to light Becky's secret double life (by day a roving reporter, by night, day, weekend, and pretty much every minute, shopaholic). She must now find a way to regain the trust of Luke and her dearest friend Suze(Kristen Ritter). All this while coming to terms with her addiction and paying off her astronomical debt.

This film echoes the idea of its lead character's financial column. It portrays a serious issue in a kitschy, fun sort of way. It is relatable. Whether I like it or not, I can definitely see myself in the shoes of Rebecca, from the emotional shopping, to doing the avoi-dance around the bills. Maybe guys won't get the idea of buying a new cardigan to get over a bad day at work, but they can probably understand putting bills on the back burner (for some of us literally). You know, the whole "I didn't see it so it doesn't exist" mentality.

I'm going to put my (credit) cards out on the table, I'm a girly girl who likes clothes and sappy endings, so of course I loved this film. However, for the sake of integrity I will be objective in my opinions about this awsomely wonderful, must see movie...get it? That was sooo not objective!

While some of the characters were spot on for their roles...others left much to be desired. The characters of Rebecca's parents, Jane (Joan Cusack) and Graham Bloomwood (John Goodman), despite supposedly being married for over 25 years, had zero chemistry. It's almost as if their scenes were filmed separately and composited. Besides that, Goodman went a little over the top trying to portray the sweet and lovable, yet somewhat kooky father. Rebecca Bloomwood, however, was cast perfectly. Isla Fisher gave a hilarious performance as a wanna be "It-girl." Bibb was wonderful as Alicia, she had the right look, and the bitch role fit her like a cashmere glove. Speaking of, the costumers did a fab job, as I couldn't help window shopping throughout the entire film, with audible gasps at every pair of shoes.

I'm a little torn on how corny and simplified Confessions of A Shopaholic was. Becky got herself into a lot of sticky situations, but solutions to her problems consistently popped up like magic. It was a bit too convenient. On the other hand, it is a Disney movie, so the target audience would be families with children who have a short attention span. So, to go into more detail and flesh things out might exclude possible young viewers.

There is one technical element that I really feel the need to mention: at different points throughout the film, we literally see the mannequins come alive via CG effects. I thought this was a fabulous and inventive way to physically embody the temptations Becky feels, and in the end show her triumph. This movie will probably be an instant "decline" for most guys. But for the girls who want a fun, silly way to spend a couple hours, Confessions of A Shopaholic is Pre-Approved* for your enjoyment.

*Viewers may be subject to strong shopping impulses.
Rating: 7/10

The Presentation:
Presented in an AVC MPEG-4 encode at 1080P (in the natural 2.35:1 ratio), Confessions of a Shopaholic won't warrant a decline notice, but it certainly isn't one of those "every 5 minutes, we give a $500 gift certificate" promos, either.

Colors are vivid, vivid, vivid. Did I say colors are vivid? They are! (Sorry, gotta get the annoying out of my system.) They are easily the highlight of this release, with a bright film (color wise, not content wise) getting a respectable high definition transfer. Not all is well, though, as much like the film itself, the video transfer is somewhat like a football thrown directly at your face from five feet away. You may see it coming, but you may not be able to get out of the way.

What I mean by that, is that this film revels in it's colors so much that it starts to be a detraction to the video element of this release. I didn't find skin tones to be at all accurate (they range from utterly pale and whitewashed to something akin to a fire-based superhero on a Saturday morning cartoon). Black levels were also somewhat like a superhero movie (ahh...I wish I saw a superhero movie....), as in, the absorbing man, the living black hole, where anything that gets near it will become an empty colorless blob.

There was some noise in this video transfer as well, and some shots that looked quite off, the occasional soft spot in the middle of sharp shot kinda situation. Still, this film is catered to materialistic people, shoppers. This isn't targeted at cinephiles. What we are given in this video transfer is somewhat a compliment to the film, giving it an extra splash of color to show off the ever-so important shiny and intricate articles of clothing that define the film.

Onto the audio! Presented in a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, Confessions of a Shopaholic doesn't really shine, due to the obvious nature of the film, as it doesn't really try to go outside the box. It doesn't have to. It's a chick flick. Dialogue is always discernible, always. Sometimes the soundtrack (let's just say I wasn't a fan of the songs in this film by ANY means) gets a bit strong, relative to the volume level of the rest of the film, equalling the dialogue and little effects, so that was a bit annoying. Rear activity is somewhat barren and stingy, like Rebecca should have been for a few years. Bass levels have a bit more to do than surrounds, though they are nowhere near as emphatic as those found in the menu for the film (so don't judge this book by it's cover when you pop it in there). All in all, this track does the job, and does everything it is supposed to do, doing that job, but it really doesn't go above and beyond. At all. Presentable, and fitting, not powerful or involving.

Editor's Note #2: The packaging for this release only states the English, French, and Spanish tracks and subs for the release, while there are many audio and subtitle tracks available. Please see the sidebar for a full listing.
Rating: 7/10 ( 7/10- video, 7/10- audio)

The Extras:
Confessions of A Shopaholic is fairly bare in it's extras, but there are some fun little glimpses into the making of the film.

Behind The Fashion (HD)
Contains 6 mini segments. First is Wardrobe (3:03). This follows the head costumer Patricia Field (best known for her work on Sex and The City) throughout her thought process. The Second is Temple of Shopping (2:32). This feature shows the transformation of Henri Bendel into a fairy tale shopping paradise. Next we have The Green Scarf (1:33), a fairly useless piece on the creation of Rebecca's signature green scarf. This is followed by New York: Fashion Central (2:34), Sample Sale Madness (1:58), and lastly, Window Shopping (1:50). I liked this feature because it showed how the ending scene was shot and the significance behind that scene.

Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 min)
Despite their brevity, these were some pretty funny scenes that I wish would have been kept in the film. One in particular, Zebra Print Pants, shows the lengths Miss Bloomwood's character will go to for the almighty zebra print jeans.

Bloopers of a Shopaholic (HD, 2 min)
The name says it all, it's just a blooper reel. Not very funny for the most part, to be honest with you.

Music Videos (HD)
Stuck With Each Other (3:25) by Shontelle featuring Akon, Accessory (3:23) by Jordyn Taylor, and Takes Time To Love (2:32) by Trey Songz. I would recommend skipping this extra all together. The songs aren't that great and aside from Akon these artists are unknown and not very memorable. These were completely unnecessary. The film footage used in each video was exactly the same and in the exact progression, plus the shots had nothing to do with the songs being performed.

Fashion Cash
Also included in this release is a digital copy and an offer to redeem $10 fashion cash.

Digital Copy
A second disc includes a digital copy of the film
Rating: 4/10

Overall:
The audio and video may be a deal but they're certainly no designer sample sale. This film has already caused a stir in the fashionista community. With the message boards already firing up over where to find "The" green scarf, it's clear this is a solid hit for the female audience.
Rating: 6/10