| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A |
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| Visuals: |
A |
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Don't Be Fooled, This Shopgirl Is Smart and Witty
by Eric (movies profile)
Sep 7, 2007
31
of
34 people found this review helpful
A girl stands at her station in Sacks Fifth Avenue behind a glass case showing a fine assortment of elegant gloves. That's the image I remember of Mirabelle Buttersfield from Steve Martin's novella, which has now just become a motion picture. I was lucky, I read it while listening to Steve Martin read it to me. Not that I had him come over to read it to me (although that would have been pretty cool), I listened to the audio book. Listening to him read the tale of Ms. Butterfield and her two suitors, you realize this isn't a story about who gets the girl, but about the two men who have to become better if they are to secure her heart. And if you really want to get into it, I'm convinced that both men represent Steve Martin, the youthful and inelegant boy and the world-weary and tired older man.
But that's just the book, right? I was hoping not going into this film starring Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman, and Martin himself. We meet Mirabelle (Danes) at her counter, a wallflower if there ever was one, she knows she is and accepts that as her role. She doesn't date much. When she gets hit on by Jeremy (Schwartzman), their romance is clunky. He's never prepared for any situation and is more clumsy than all Three Stooges put together. But he's charming in a strange way and Mirabelle picks up on this, but isn't happy. When a refined older gentleman Ray Porter (Martin) buys her a set of gloves that she sells and asks her for a date, she is just as concerned. He is MUCH older than her, but he knows the right words to say to ease her. When their romance becomes physical, he immediately tells her that he's not interested in more, though he toys with her about how much he cares. The problem is that he DOES care, but he will not allow himself to love her. As the movie gets closer to its ending, the two men begin to make changes in their attitudes. Jeremy's is more visual, since he doesn't have much to begin with, Martin's is more emotional since he already have everything. In the end it comes down to Mirabelle to make her choice, not over two men but over what she wants in her life. That choice puts everything into perspective.
The casting is important for this to work. For Mirabelle, Danes is essencial. She's not really cast for being pretty (which she is), but because if you look at her body of work, you realize that she plays characters who internalize most of the time. Watch Danes as her character thinks about the things around her. Since she stands at her station all day long, she has a lot of time to think and it shows. Martin is crucial to play Porter, not because this is his story, but because you can tell a lot of this comes from his feelings as an older man. He wants Mirabelle to be happy. He wants her to be happy with him, but doesn't want to be attached to her. And for reasons it's probably best not to know. But it is Schwartman who is the most important part. In the book, Jeremy is seen impartial. But for this story to work, you have to be repulsed by Jeremy but also amazed by him. Schwartzman has most of the physical comedy of the film, but he plays it down and you realize the kind of comedy we have in our lives on a day to day basis.
Martin's screenplay from his novel keeps most of the tones and feelings portrayed in the book. For the most part, it's brilliant. All but the scenes involving a rival shopgirl (Brigette Wilson-Sampras) who seems interested to get at Porter herself. This character really doesn't belong in this story except to throw a false red herring here and there to make us think it's going into formula. She might have been in the book, but I don't remember her (most likely, I'd forgotten her completely). The jokes are witty and require some smarts. But this movie is not pompous. It just wants to tell a romantic story without all the pulpy ooze that comes with modern romantic stories.
All in all, this is a film worthy to take your spouse or loved one to. It does make you smile at the end, but not for the reasons you may think. And instead of making you fall in love with actors, it does something even more amazing; it makes you fall in love with love again. |
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