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Movies / Upcoming / Confessions of a Shopaholic
Confessions of a Shopaholic

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Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

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Reviews Counted:35

Fresh:3

Rotten:32

Average Rating:3.8/10

Consensus: This middling romantic comedy underutilizes a talented cast and delivers muddled messages on materialism and conspicuous consumption.

Australian Rating: PG [See Full Rating] Mild coarse language

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Comedies

Australian Theatrical Release:
Mar 12, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $44,239,688

Synopsis: Based on a pair of effervescent novels by Sophie Kinsella, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC is a light and bubbly confection that should appeal to those who can identify with its heroine's passion.... Based on a pair of effervescent novels by Sophie Kinsella, CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC is a light and bubbly confection that should appeal to those who can identify with its heroine's passion. Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher, WEDDING CRASHERS) has a label-filled wardrobe that any fashionista would covet, but she also has credit card debt to match. She craves a job at the Vogue-like Alette, but a position at a financial magazine at the same publishing company may be her ticket in. Despite her painfully low credit rating, Becky starts dishing out advice on saving, while debt collector Derek Smeath (character actor Robert Stanton) is hot on her Louboutin heels. Meanwhile, she is competing for the affections of her charming boss, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy, THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB), with icy Alette employee Alicia Billington (Leslie Bibb, IRON MAN). A well-heeled hybrid of SEX AND THE CITY and THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, SHOPAHOLIC features the talents of Patricia Field, costume designer for those two films. The clothes are almost on an equal footing with the actors here, and each well-chosen piece in Manhattan shop windows or worn by Bloomwood helps contribute to the film's bright mood. A lesser actress might have been lost in all the colors, but Fisher is a formidable comic presence who pulls off Becky's ditzy lines and goofy falls with equal aplomb. Those hoping for a smart discourse on the perils of credit cards and excess spending are certainly watching the wrong film, but SHOPAHOLIC may just be the fashion equivalent of food porn for dieters. [More]

Starring: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman

Starring: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Fred Armisen, Leslie Bibb, Julie Hagerty, Krysten Ritter, Robert Stanton, Christine Ebersole, Clea Lewis, Wendie Malick, Stephanie March

Director: P.J. Hogan

Director: P.J. Hogan
Screenwriter: Tim Firth, Tracey Jackson
Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer
Composer: James Newton Howard
Studio: Buena Vista Internationa

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Reviews for Confessions of a Shopaholic

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1 - 16 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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The film serves as a defense of beauty in the face of moralism, a theme that can never go stale.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
03/13/09
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
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Even if you enjoy rom-coms, you'll be struggling to find more than two mild chuckles in this waste of time and celluloid.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
03/13/09
Annette Basile
Annette Basile
FILMINK (Australia)
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Fisher is wonderful for much of this movie, despite some of the irksome material shoved her way.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment Comment
03/13/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
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There is no denying Isla Fisher's charm on screen, even when faced with the direst of characters. And she puts a lot of effort into making Rebecca work, you have to grant her that.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
03/13/09
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
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A mediocre result for a title with as much promise as a designer boutique crammed with items to die for, this girls-only adaptation of Sophie Kinsella's book has charm, but never lives up to expectations

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
03/05/09
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
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Fisher is a good physical comedian, but gee, could anyone be this dumb?

Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment Comment
03/13/09
Julie Rigg
Julie Rigg
MovieTime, ABC Radio National
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It’s hardly suspenseful stuff, but the sassy New-York-shopper angle should keep Sex And The City fans happy without patronising them quite so cynically.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
02/20/09
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
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It's by-the-numbers stuff, but all so silly and goofy you can't take offence.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
02/20/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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The tone of the film, directed by P. J. Hogan, is frothy and frivolous; the plot is glaringly predictable.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
02/19/09
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
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The production renders totally irrelevant all hopes for a well-made movie. It's one of those ragged, pandemonious studio comedies that hammers at plot points in every contrived scene.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
02/13/09
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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Not only is it an unfunny movie shrilly told, it probably is the most ill-timed and appallingly insulting movie in recent memory.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
02/13/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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Like the flailing American economy, Confessions of a Shopaholic wants to eat its cake and have its spiritual redemption too. (Talk about timing!)

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/13/09
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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Strains far too hard for comedy that seldom erupts with full force and inevitably betrays a free-spending mindset that now feels gone with the wind.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/13/09
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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Though you might wonder whether there's room in a movie marketplace that already feels overstocked with romantic comedies, Confessions of a Shopaholic arrives fashionably late and dressed to kill.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/12/09
Betsy Sharkey
Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
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Rebecca is the Lucy Ricardo of profligate spending.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
02/12/09
John Anderson
John Anderson
Washington Post
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The plotting is on automatic pilot. It needs Chesley B. Sullenberger III.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 5 Comments
02/12/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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1 - 16 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Confessions of a Shopaholic

August 06, 2009: RT on DVD: Confessions of Shopaholic and Paul Blart
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Confessions of a Shopaholic, Shooting Dogs, Ella Enchanted... If Hugh Dancy was in danger of being cast as the posh English heartthrob, his latest role has put paid to that. In... More...

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This week at the movies, we've got creepy campers (Friday the 13th, starring Jared Padalecki and Danielle Panabaker), conspicuous consumption (Confessions of a Shopaholic,... More...

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