Confessions of a Shopaholic (film)
Encyclopedia
Confessions of a Shopaholic is a 2009 American romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...

 based on the Shopaholic series of novels by Sophie Kinsella. Directed by P. J. Hogan
P. J. Hogan
Paul John "P. J." Hogan is an AACTA Awards winning Australian film director and a writer in the film and television genre.Hogan was born in Brisbane, Australia...

, the film stars Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher
Isla Lang Fisher is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away...

 as the shopaholic journalist and Hugh Dancy
Hugh Dancy
- Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...

 as her boss.

Plot

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher
Isla Lang Fisher is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away...

) is a shopping addict who lives with her best friend Suze (Krysten Ritter
Krysten Ritter
Krysten Alyce Ritter is an American actress and former model. Ritter is well known for her critically acclaimed turn as Jane Margolis on AMC's Breaking Bad where she first appeared as the property manager and neighbor of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman...

). She works as a journalist for a gardening magazine but dreams to join the fashion magazine Alette. On the way to an interview with Alette, she buys a green scarf. Her credit card is declined, so Rebecca goes to a hot dog stand and offers to buy all the hot dogs with a check, if the seller gives her back change in cash, saying the scarf is to be a gift for her sick aunt. The hot dog vendor refuses but a man offers her $20.

When Rebecca arrives at the interview, she's told that the position has been filled. However, the receptionist tells her there is an open position with the magazine Successful Saving, explaining how getting a job at "Successful Savings" could eventually lead to a position at "Alette" magazine. Rebecca interviews with Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy
Hugh Dancy
- Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...

), the editor of Successful Savings and the man who just gave her the $20. She hides her scarf outside his office, but Luke's assistant comes into the office and gives it back to her. Rebecca knows the game is up and leaves.

That evening, drunk, she and Suze write letters to Alette and Successful Saving, but she mails each to the wrong magazine. Luke likes the letter she meant to send to Alette and hires her. Rather than completing a work assignment for a new column, Rebecca goes to a clothing sale. While inspecting a pair of cashmere gloves she has just purchased, she realizes it is not 100% cashmere and she has been duped. This gives her an idea for the column, which she writes under the name "The Girl in the Green Scarf" and is an instant success.

Rebecca later returns home to renewed confrontations with her debt collector, so Suze makes her attend Shopaholics Anonymous. The group leader, Miss Korch (Wendie Malick
Wendie Malick
Wendie Malick is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles as Judith Tupper Stone on the HBO series Dream On , Nina Van Horn on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! , Ronee Lawrence on the NBC sitcom Frasier and Victoria Chase on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland .-Early...

), forces Rebecca to donate all the clothes she just bought, including a bridesmaid's dress for Suze's wedding and a dress for a TV interview. After the meeting Rebecca can't afford to buy back both and buys back the interview dress. During the interview, Rebecca is accused of not paying her debts and loses her job. Suze is angry when she finds out that Rebecca lost the bridesmaid dress. Alette offers Rebecca a position at the magazine, but Rebecca declines. She sells most of her clothes to pay her debts, including the green scarf. Meanwhile, Luke starts a new company, Brandon Communications.

Rebecca's clothes sale makes it possible for her to pay her debts. Rebecca attends Suze's wedding after reclaiming her bridesmaid dress, and Suze forgives her. Rebecca and Luke reunite, and Luke returns the green scarf after revealing that the person who bought it at an auction was acting as his agent. Rebecca becomes romantically involved with Luke and starts working at his new company.

Cast

  • Isla Fisher
    Isla Fisher
    Isla Lang Fisher is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away...

     as Rebecca Bloomwood
    Becky Bloomwood
    Rebecca Jane 'Becky' Brandon is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the Shopaholic series of novels by British author, Sophie Kinsella.-Personal life:...

  • Hugh Dancy
    Hugh Dancy
    - Early life and career :Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, the son of British philosopher Jonathan Dancy, a professor at the University of Reading and at the University of Texas at Austin. His mother, Sarah, is a publisher. His brother, Jack, is a co-director of the travel company, Trufflepig...

     as Luke Brandon
  • Krysten Ritter
    Krysten Ritter
    Krysten Alyce Ritter is an American actress and former model. Ritter is well known for her critically acclaimed turn as Jane Margolis on AMC's Breaking Bad where she first appeared as the property manager and neighbor of Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman...

     as Suze Cleath-Stuart
  • John Goodman
    John Goodman
    John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...

     as Graham Bloomwood
  • Joan Cusack
    Joan Cusack
    Joan Mary Cusack is an American film, stage and television actress. Throughout her career, Cusack has appeared in many films as well as appearing in stage productions....

     as Jane Bloomwood
  • John Lithgow
    John Lithgow
    John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...

     as Edgar West
  • Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin A. Scott Thomas, OBE is an English actress who has also acquired French nationality. She gained international recognition in the 1990s for her roles in Bitter Moon, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The English Patient....

     as Alette Naylor
  • Leslie Bibb
    Leslie Bibb
    Leslie Louise Bibb is an American actress and former fashion model. She transitioned into film and television in late 1990s. She appeared in television shows such as Home Improvement , before she appeared in her first film, the comedy Private Parts , which was followed by her first show The Big Easy...

     as Alicia Billington
  • Robert Stanton
    Robert Stanton (actor)
    Robert Lloyd Stanton is an American film, television and stage actor, director and playwright. He has appeared in many films, including A League of Their Own and Confessions of a Shopaholic...

     as Derek Smeathe
  • Lynn Redgrave
    Lynn Redgrave
    Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...

     as a Drunken Lady at Party
  • Julie Hagerty
    Julie Hagerty
    Julie Hagerty is an American actress and former model.-Early life:Hagerty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Harriet Yuellig, a model and singer, and Jerry Hagerty, a musician. Her brother Michael Hagerty was also an actor. Her parents later divorced. Hagerty attended Indian Hill High...

     as Haley
  • Nick Cornish as Tarquin Cleath-Stuart
  • Fred Armisen
    Fred Armisen
    Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian and musician best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, and portraying off-color foreigners in various comedy films such as EuroTrip, Anchorman and Cop Out...

     as Ryan Koenig
  • Wendie Malick
    Wendie Malick
    Wendie Malick is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles as Judith Tupper Stone on the HBO series Dream On , Nina Van Horn on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! , Ronee Lawrence on the NBC sitcom Frasier and Victoria Chase on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland .-Early...

     as Miss Korch
  • John Salley
    John Salley
    John Thomas "Spider" Salley is a retired American professional basketball player, actor and talk show host. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises....

     as a D. Freak
  • Tuomas Hiltunen as Janne Virtanen
  • Peyton Roi List as Shoestore Girl #2
  • Ed Helms
    Ed Helms
    Edward Paul "Ed" Helms is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as Andy Bernard on the US version of the sitcom/mockumentary The Office and for his role as Dr. Stu Price in The Hangover films.- Early life :Helms was born and raised...

     as Garret E. Barton
  • Stephanie March
    Stephanie March
    Stephanie Caroline March is an American actress, best known for her current portrayal of Alexandra Cabot on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Early life:...

     as department store manager


According to DVD commentary, Lithgow turned down the role of Edgar West twice before accepting it. Armisen was approached for the West role after Lithgow initially turned it down, but after Lithgow changed his mind, the Ryan Koenig role was written for Armisen. Ed Helms was cast as Derek Smeathe but scheduling conflicts prevented him from taking the role. He quickly shot the Garrett role in one day

Production

The film adapts the two books The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic is the first in the popular Shopaholic series. It is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a pen-name of Madeline Wickham...

and Shopaholic Abroad
Shopaholic Abroad
"Shopaholic Abroad" is the second in the popular 'Shopaholic' series. It is a chick-lit novel by Sophie Kinsella, a psyeudonym of Madeline Wickham. It follows the story of Becky Bloomwood and her adventures when she's offered the chance to work in New York.- Plot synopsis :Life looks good for...

which in the United States were known as Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan respectively. The film uses the novel's American title Confessions of a Shopaholic reinterpreting Rebecca as an American rather than English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

.

Filming took place in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 from February to May 2008. To change the ending to be more sympathetic to audiences during a time of recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...

, re-shoots took place in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 on December 4 and 8, 2008.

Production on the film also included creating a group of faux upscale brand stores at the base of the Hearst Tower
Hearst Tower
There are two buildings named Hearst Tower:*Hearst Tower *Hearst Tower...

. Present were brands such as Valentino
Valentino SpA
Valentino SpA is a clothing company founded in 1959 by Valentino Garavani. Nowadays it is a part of Valentino Fashion Group. New creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli will take Alessandra Facchinetti's seat as creative designer...

, Anna Sui
Anna Sui
Anna Sui is an American fashion designer. Her luxury brand retails globally in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Her clothing, fragrance, cosmetic, and accessories lines sell at Anna Sui stores in over 50 countries and are also widely distributed at leading department stores...

, Catherine Malandrino
Catherine Malandrino
Catherine Malandrino is a fashion designer. She was born in Grenoble, France and now works in New York City as well as in Paris.-Profile:...

 and Alberta Ferretti
Alberta Ferretti
Alberta Ferretti is an Italian fashion designer and dressmaker. She designs for Alberta Ferretti and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti. Her showroom is in Milan, Italy but her studio is in the picturesque village of Cattolica, near Rimini, Italy....

. Several of the costumes were from the collection of French couture designer Gilles Montezin
Gilles Montezin
Gilles Montezin is a French clothing designer well-known for his elegant haute couture style. His clothes have been worn by various high-profile celebrities and featured in films such as Sex and the City and Confessions of a Shopaholic....

.

Reception

Confessions of a Shopaholic has received generally negative reviews. As of March 6, 2009 the film holds an average score of 38, based on 30 reviews on the Web Site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which assigns a normalized
Normalization (statistics)
In one usage in statistics, normalization is the process of isolating statistical error in repeated measured data. A normalization is sometimes based on a property...

 rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 the film holds a rating of 23%, based on 113 reviews with a consensus "This middling romantic comedy underutilizes a talented cast and delivers muddled messages on materialism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...

 and conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption
Conspicuous consumption is spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying income or wealth. In the mind of a conspicuous consumer, such display serves as a means of attaining or maintaining social status....

."

Isla Fisher's performance generated good reviews and she was nominated for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards 2009, but she lost to Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (actress)
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...

 for Bride Wars
Bride Wars
Bride Wars is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Gary Winick and written by Greg DePaul, June Diane Raphael and Casey Wilson....

. The film itself was also nominated for Choice Movie: Romance but lost to Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...

.

On its opening weekend without Presidents' Day
Presidents' Day
Presidents Day may refer to:* Presidents' Day , a holiday in Botswana on July 19* Presidents Day , a federal holiday in the United States on the third Monday of February...

, the film opened #4 behind Taken
Taken (film)
Taken is a 2008 action thriller film produced by Luc Besson, starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, and Famke Janssen. The screenplay is written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, and was directed by Pierre Morel...

, He's Just Not That Into You
He's Just Not That into You (film)
He's Just Not That Into You is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis, based on the self-help book of the same name by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, which in turn was inspired by a line of dialogue in Sex and the City...

, and Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th (2009 film)
Friday the 13th is a 2009 American slasher film directed by Marcus Nispel and written by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift. It is a reboot of the Friday the 13th film series, which began in 1980 and the twelfth Friday the 13th film in total...

grossing $15,054,000 in 2,507 theaters with a $6,005 average. As of May 22, 2009 the film grossed $44,277,350 at the domestic box office, while its worldwide box office is $106,904,619.

Home media release

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...

 on June 23, 2009 in North America and in Australia on August 5, 2009.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 of Confessions of a Shopaholic was released on February 17, 2009 under Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...

. However, an alternate tracklisting was posted on Tommy2.net on January 25, 2009. In the alternate tracklisting, Adrienne Bailon
Adrienne Bailon
Adrienne Eliza Bailon is an American actress, singer-songwriter, dancer, and television personality. She was a member of former girl groups 3LW and The Cheetah Girls, and is also known for her roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name and latter sequels which brought the group to...

 also sing "Big Spender" instead of Girlicious
Girlicious
Girlicious is an American girl group originally formed by Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls, from the CW reality TV show Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious. The group was originally signed to Geffen Records and composed of members Natalie Mejia, Chrystina Sayers, Nichole Corvoda and...

, and the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...

 sing "Bad Girl" instead of Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

 feat.Chris Brown. In addition, Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....

 is said to sing "Emotion in Motion
Emotion in Motion (song)
"Emotion in Motion" is a song by Ric Ocasek, the songwriter and lead vocalist of The Cars. It was included in his second solo album, This Side of Paradise, and released as a single in late 1986. The single reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart...

" instead, and "Music Of The Sun" by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

 has been replaced by "Calling You" by Kat DeLuna
Kat DeLuna
Kathleen Emperatriz "Kat" DeLuna is an American pop singer of Dominican heritage. DeLuna has a soprano vocal range. Her debut single, "Whine Up", reached the top ten in Belgium and France, peaked inside the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Her...

. Shontelle sings Stuck With Each Other
Stuck with Each Other
"Stuck with Each Other" is the second solo single released by Barbadian singer Shontelle featuring R&B singer Akon and the first single from the re-release of her debut album, Shontelligence. It is also featured on the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack...

 with Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

 for the soundtrack, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

's "Fashion" was also in the soundtrack.

External links

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