Movie Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

The character of Rebecca Bloomwood, as written by author Sophie Kinsella in her “Confessions of a Shopaholic” series, has plenty of foibles. Sure, she can't pass up a sale. That doesn't stop the character from being intelligent. Bored, maybe, but not dumb.

P.J. Hogan has directed the smarts right out of the character for his film version of the best-selling book. Hogan turns a potentially smart movie about a quirky young woman into a situation comedy. Instead of an intelligent conversation about the high cost of love or a new pair of Prada shoes, Hogan falls back on pratfalls, funny faces and what looks like leftovers from episodes of “Will & Grace.”

Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a journalist with a gardening magazine who longs to work for an “Ugly Betty”-style fashion magazine. Instead of landing her dream job, she gets hired to write a business column. Under the nom de plume of The Girl in the Green Scarf, she offers a fashionable perspective on high finance. She gets more than a job when she falls for her new boss (Hugh Dancy).

Fisher has the unenviable job of playing Bloomwood. The Australian actress showed great comic skills in “The Wedding Crashers.” She also proved she could handle romantic comedy with her work in “Definitely, Maybe.” In both cases she had better material.

The mangled script by Tracey Jackson, Tim Firth and Kayla Alpert relies heavily on physical comedy. Look how funny it is when Rebecca tries to steal back a mailed letter. Isn't she just a hoot dancing so silly? Aren't the scenes with the shopaholic support group hilarious? The answers: seen it, not in the least, and you have to be kidding.

The most embarrassing moments involve Joan Cusack and John Goodman as Rebecca's parents. Both are funny actors. They shouldn't be reduced to trying to milk sight gags out of driving an RV.

“The Devil Wears Prada” showed it was possible to be stylish and funny. The fashion industry is rife with possibilities for lampooning. Just having Leslie Bibb, who plays Rebecca's chief romantic rival, be thin and snooty isn't enough. Wendy Malick, who's wasted in this film, did a better job with a similar character on “Just Shoot Me.”

Every aspect of this movie has been done better elsewhere. Hogan should have been more confident in the intelligence of the source material. His direction results in a major fashion faux pas.