emilycoco Review of Confessions of a Shopaholic

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

annoying at best, and insulting at worst

[1/10 · 20 June 2010]

I enjoy a mindless romantic comedy as much as the next person, but I was unable to finish this movie. For one, it was supremely annoying. Isla Fisher and most of the other characters were stereotyped into oblivion, to the point where you couldn't relate if you wanted to. And why would you want to relate? They were for the most part selfish, short-sighted, curiously loud, and generally intolerable. But the main reason that compelled me to turn the movie off is that I found it completely insulting. Viewers are supposed to suspend reality and believe that Fisher finds fame and success as a financial writer through her ridiculous metaphors about shopping. The fact that she's too dumb to take her own advice, and yet she still somehow manages to fool everyone around her, is just too much reality for me to suspend. Moreover, the portrayal of a woman who finds success in finance through only dumb luck and cute outfits is an insult to all the women who find similar success in that field through their intellect and drive. I read the book and liked it enough to read the whole series, but this movie effectively removed all the nuances and details that made the book (and the pretty distasteful habits it depicted) bearable. I guess the sad irony is that I paid to watch it, while all the people involved with it are laughing all the way to the bank. Don't waste your time watching this abhorrent airbrushed fairy tale, and if you have a daughter of a formative age, please don't let her watch it either.