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Jason Schwartzman provides much of the comic relief in "Shopgirl," a film adaptation of a novella written by actor/ comedian Steve Martin.Review
'Shopgirl' will quietly win you over
Everyone is in search of something in film adaptation of Steve Martin's novella.
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Mirabelle is an aspiring artist from Vermont who moves to LA and ends up living in a dinky apartment, working behind the gloves counter in a ritzy department store. She's waiting for a life.
Jeremy is a slovenly dreamer, socially incompetent, eager to please, broke and on his way to nowhere when he has a brief fling with Mirabelle. Eventually he takes off on a road trip with a rock band, searching for life.
Ray Porter has a life, or something like one. A 50-something businessman of certain means, he buys a pair of gloves from 20-something Mirabelle, and then sends them to her home with an invitation to dinner.
Life has just asked Mirabelle out for a bite.
These are the essentials of "Shopgirl," the heartfelt, studiously small film adapted by Steve Martin from his novella of the same name. It's a film that seems palpably cared for in ways that most Hollywood fare never does. This is Martin's baby, entrusted to director Anand Tucker ("Hilary and Jackie") and treated lovingly by all involved.
Martin plays Ray Porter; Claire Danes is Mirabelle; and Jason Schwartzman is Jeremy. Those expecting to see Martin doing his wild and crazy guy schtick will be disappointed; Ray is witty and self-effacing, but he's never slapstick and he carries an air of sadness with him at all times.
It's Schwartzman who provides most of the comic relief, searching for his one true self, trying to live in the moment and maturing despite his own instincts. It's a nice part for Schwartzman, who can come off smarmy onscreen; he basks in Jeremy's cheery innocence.
But the movie is ultimately about Mirabelle. She ends up in a relationship with Ray, if only for something to do in life. Danes lets you see the nervous woman inside this near-invisible clerk, bursting to get out and be so much more than the person who watches hours march off to nowhere. Ray introduces her to the power of money, the tenderness of wisdom and, ultimately, the tragedy of constant distance.
The film goes too far at times. In a return to her home state, Mirabelle's parents seem barely more than corpses. In the film's final voiceover, Martin offers verbal explanation where none is needed. Jeremy somehow makes a transition from pauper to player near the end with no real context offered. Small miscues, but miscues nonetheless.
Still, "Shopgirl" delivers where it matters. What starts out as a young girl learning to live becomes a young girl learning to love, and learning the limits of love. She grows up; he, unfortunately, is already grown, and has nowhere to go. Their tragedy is sealed from the moment they meet.
Danes remains the most expressive face of her generation; she can go through a range of emotions and reactions within seconds. Here she's reined in beautifully by the script, so that when she lets go ever-so-briefly in a final encounter with Ray, it has breathtaking power. It's not hard to imagine another actress doing this part, but it's hard to imagine anyone doing it nearly as well.
"Shopgirl" is not about pyrotechnics or even melodrama. It's a quiet, amusing, sad and hopeful film about the dissonance between age and youth, commitment and freedom, growth and stagnation. It won't wow you, but it may very well win you.
You can reach Tom Long at (313) 222-8879 or tlong@detnews.com.
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