Review of Shopgirl (2005) by Daniel K — 25 Jul 2008

"Shopgirl" is a perfect gem of a movie. It's delicate and beautiful and finely crafted. It isn't deep or important, and it doesn't make any grand statements. It's simply a good story well told.

"Shopgirl" is the film that Steve Martin's other ode to Los Angeles, "L.A. Story," probably should have been. It's about an older, successful man approaching a mid-life crisis who seeks sexual companionship with a woman half his age (Sarah Jessica Parker in "L.A. Story," Claire Danes in "Shopgirl"). But unlike "L.A. Story" it doesn't go for the cheap laugh, and it doesn't succumb to the temptation to present a big emotional arc. It simply lets the story unfold naturally in an understated and beautiful and melonchonic way (aided greatly by the haunting score by Barrington Pheloung). It's a movie made by mature adults for mature adults.

Despite being the biggest star in the cast, Steve Martin's role is very limited (it's really told from the perspective of Claire Danes' character). And yet Mr. Martin is clearly the driving creative force behind the film having written both the screenplay as well as the original (and terrific) novella on which it is based. In fact, in the last 20 years or so (beginning with his exceptional screenplay for "Roxanne," his best film), Steve Martin become one of this country's great contemporary writers. In addition to this screenplay and novella, he also wrote another novel called "The Pleasure of My Company," a collection of humorous essays from "The New Yorker" magazine called "Pure Drivel," and a stage play about an imaginary meeting between Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso called "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," all of which I highly recommend.