Review of Shopgirl (2005) by Andrea V — 07 Mar 2011

Between Claire Danes' overacting and Steve Martin's underacting and Jason Schwartzman just being there; I had a hard time connecting and caring about the characters in this film. True each had their own distinct interesting traits, it seemed a little hollow watching these characters learn and progress.

Maybe Martin was at fault for trying to do too much at once. I appreciate his novella through the screenplay that he wrote; the story comes off as a piece that seemingly could take off and be unique. His overall presence, however, as all knowing narrator and antagonist within the film just feels odd.

Perhaps a little too traditional, Shopgirl expresses great direction of style and characters but never fully utilizes these aspects to create anything substantially memorable.