Shopgirl DVD: Review By Courtney O.

Shopgirl is a quiet and charming love story based on a novella by Steve Martin. For the record, I am in love with this movie. Claire Danes' Mirabelle is an aspiring artist with enough student loan debt to warrant 10 prescriptions of antidepressants, let alone one, and works the elegant ladies' glove counter at a high-end department store. A transplant from the East Coast, she is looking for ways to kick-start her life and make connections, any connections, that might lead to some kind of worthwhile human purpose. But Mirabelle isn't the typical LA girl, so she doesn't always feel like she fits in. She is more a lady than a bimbo; an elegant throwback from an older Hollywood, rather than the Paris' and Nicole's of today.

But before she knows it, Mirabelle meets two very different men, polar opposites even, and experiences two different kinds of love. Jason Schwartzman is a hilarious Jeremy, who as quickly and haphazardly as he came into Mirabelle's life, leaves on tour with a rock band. While Jeremy is soaking up important life lessons oddly available in books on tape, Mirabelle is whisked before fancy dinners and high society events with Ray (Steve Martin), a rich, older gentleman with a sprawling mid-century modern home and a private jet, with whom, not only is she appreciated, she is lavished with gifts. But all these acts of Ray somehow mask his inability or lack of desire for a real closeness, and reveal that a lot of acts of giving often cloak someone's own vulnerability.

But somewhere, somehow between these two men, is the man for Mirabelle. She makes the connections she sought out to make, and then some, and takes the strides to find what and whom she deserves. Not the least bit trashy, the film has a lot of integrity, and Mirabelle holds most of it. She makes a decision, and finds a love that she can nurture into something more. She makes changes, she quits her job, makes more art. Heck, she even gets her own show.

Evolution of a Novella: The Making of Shopgirl

Featuring Steve Martin and the screenwriters, they discuss how easy it was to turn this novella into a screenplay without losing any of the arty qualities. The Director talks about his enthusiasm for the project and the aspect of being an Englishman and rediscovering LA through the eyes of someone who is not from here.

Deleted Scenes

Just bits and pieces of things that were probably better being left out. Good to check out though.

Audio Commentary by Director Anand Tucker

Director Anand Tucker reinvisions Steve Martin's best-selling novella. This Director is very energetic and excited about the project and working with these actors. Liking to be close to his actors, he even directs from the curb.

Shot in Widescreen, (2:35:1)-enhanced for 16x9 televisions. I am disqualitfied from enjoying the specialized enhancement, but the shots of this film are still very spectacular. Beautiful shots both reveal the paradoxical warmth and isolation of its characters. It's all about distance.

Dolby Digital Surround Sound with a very earthy and hip soundtrack. Can't think of anything right now, but I know I enjoyed it.

The packaging of Shopgirl is clean and simple featuring a cover image of Claire Danes and her two counterparts, Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman all leaning on the glass glove counter, daydreaming about life and its endless possibilities as well as hidden doors.

This is a film about real situations, be they artfully weird, honestly beautiful or painstakingly alone. It's sort of like the complexity of human experience.