Confessions of a shopaholic or of a pathetic shopper? (Confessions of a Shopaholic (DVD))

Member Name: pcspinheiro

Product:	Confessions of a Shopaholic (DVD)
Date:	15/08/09 (9 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Soundtrack

Disadvantages: Poor acting, bad angle to the story, pathetic comedy

I just bough and watched this DVD. I have to agree that one of the largest problems of our capitalist society is the exacerbated consumerism of certain individuals that do not have the financial means to cover their enormous spending. This serious and somewhat complicated problematic is portrayed with some ambiguity in the literary series "Shopaholic", a set of books that report, with a mixture of romance and comedy, on the adventures of an addict on shopping. "Confessions of a Shopaholic is the first adaptation of this literary product to the big screen that in has recently reached an enormous commercial success with the female audience.

The story of the film is focused on Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), an addict on shopping and mad about fashion that dreams to work in a fashion magazine. However, her uncontrollable desire for shopping forces her to find a less interesting job to sustain her addiction. Through an irony of fate she ends up working for an economy magazine that attacks all her financial principles and uncontrollable habits.

By taking a superfluous and commercial approach, the film never deals concretely with the problem of debts and shopping addiction and these seem to serve as a background for a typical romantic comedy that conjugates a vapid romance to an irritating humour. By turning potentially dramatic and problematic situations into simple jokes "Confessions of a Shopaholic" becomes itself a rather tasteless joke when set against the serious economical recession the world is experiencing. The film turns Becky into a victim of capitalism and almost forces the audience to feel compassion for this envious and superficial character that spends a fortune (of money she doesn't own) buying clothes she doesn't need and that escapes her creditors while making them the villains of the story. This clear decriminalization of the consequences of exacerbated consumerism removes any sense and credibility to a story that never seemed very interested to portray this issue with detail and seriousness, preferring to focus on a basic and sloppy romance.

The soundtrack presents some captivating sonorities of some great contemporary artists that will certainly please the younger audience. However, this technical quality is not enough to save the whole work. The cast presents, in general, a mediocre performance that was irremediably harmed by the fragility of character construction. I just thought that the film was essentially ridiculous, becoming a comedy of pathetic proportions...

My girlfriend loved it, though...

Summary: This is one I would not recommed, although I realize how subjectively it may be perceived