Confessions of a Shopaholic Information

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a 2009 American romantic comedy film based on the Shopaholic series of novels by Sophie Kinsella. Directed by P. J. Hogan, the film stars Isla Fisher as the shopaholic journalist and Hugh Dancy as her boss.

Plot

Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a shopping addict who lives with her best friend Suze (Krysten Ritter). She works as a journalist for a gardening magazine but dreams to join the fashion magazine Alette. On the way to an interview with Alette, she buys a green scarf. Her credit card is declined, so Rebecca goes to a hot dog stand and offers to buy all the hot dogs with a check, if the seller gives her back change in cash, saying the scarf is to be a gift for her sick aunt. The hot dog vendor refuses but a man offers her $20.

When Rebecca arrives at the interview, she's told that the position has been filled. However, the receptionist tells her there is an open position with the magazine Successful Saving, explaining how getting a job at Successful Savings could eventually lead to a position at Alette magazine. Rebecca interviews with Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), the editor of Successful Savings and the man who just gave her the $20. She hides her scarf outside his office, but Luke's assistant comes into the office and gives it back to her. Rebecca knows the game is up and leaves.

That evening, drunk, she and Suze write letters to Alette and Successful Saving, but she mails each to the wrong magazine. Luke likes the letter she meant to send to Alette and hires her. Rather than completing a work assignment for a new column, Rebecca goes to a clothing sale. While inspecting a cashmere coat she has just purchased, she realizes it is not 100% cashmere and she has been duped. This gives her an idea for the column, which she writes under the name "The Girl in the Green Scarf" and is an instant success.

Rebecca later returns home to renewed confrontations with her debt collector, so Suze makes her attend Shopaholics Anonymous. The group leader, Miss Korch (Wendie Malick), forces Rebecca to donate all the clothes she just bought, including a bridesmaid's dress for Suze's wedding and a dress for a TV interview. After the meeting Rebecca can't afford to buy back both and buys back the interview dress. During the interview, Rebecca is accused of not paying her debts and loses her job. Suze is angry when she finds out that Rebecca lost the bridesmaid dress. Alette offers Rebecca a position at the magazine, but Rebecca declines. She sells most of her clothes to pay her debts, including the green scarf. Meanwhile, Luke starts a new company, Brandon Communications.

Rebecca's clothes sale makes it possible for her to pay her debts. Rebecca attends Suze's wedding after reclaiming her bridesmaid dress, and Suze forgives her. Rebecca and Luke reunite, and Luke returns the green scarf after revealing that the person who bought it at an auction was acting as his agent. Rebecca becomes romantically involved with Luke and starts working at his new company.

Cast

• Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood
• Hugh Dancy as Luke Brandon
• Krysten Ritter as Suze Cleath-Stuart
• John Goodman as Graham Bloomwood
• Joan Cusack as Jane Bloomwood
• John Lithgow as Edgar West
• Kristin Scott Thomas as Alette Naylor
• Leslie Bibb as Alicia Billington
• Robert Stanton as Derek Smeath
• Lynn Redgrave as a Drunken Lady at Party
• Julie Hagerty as Haley
• Nick Cornish as Tarquin Cleath-Stuart
• Stephen Guarino as Allon
• Fred Armisen as Ryan Koenig
• Wendie Malick as Miss Korch
• Michael Panes as Russell
• John Salley as a D. Freak
• Tuomas Hiltunen as Janne Virtanen
• Peyton Roi List as Shoestore Girl #2
• Ed Helms as Garret E. Barton
• Stephanie March as department store manager

According to DVD commentary, Lithgow turned down the role of Edgar West twice before accepting it. Armisen was approached for the West role after Lithgow initially turned it down, but after Lithgow changed his mind, the Ryan Koenig role was written for Armisen. Ed Helms was cast as Derek Smeathe but scheduling conflicts prevented him from taking the role. He quickly shot the Garrett role in one day

Production

The film adapts the two books The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Abroad which in the United States were known as Confessions of a Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan respectively. The film uses the novel's American title Confessions of a Shopaholic reinterpreting Rebecca as an American rather than English.

Filming took place in New York, Connecticut, and Florida from February to May 2008. To change the ending to be more sympathetic to audiences during a time of recession, re-shoots took place in New York City on December 4 and 8, 2008.

Production on the film also included creating a group of faux upscale brand stores at the base of the Hearst Tower. Present were brands such as Valentino, Anna Sui, Catherine Malandrino and Alberta Ferretti. Several of the costumes were from the collection of French couture designer Gilles Montezin.

Reception

Confessions of a Shopaholic has received generally negative reviews. As of March 6, 2009 the film holds an average score of 38, based on 30 reviews on the Web Site Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a rating of 23%, based on 113 reviews with a consensus "This middling romantic comedy underutilizes a talented cast and delivers muddled messages on materialism and conspicuous consumption."

Isla Fisher's performance generated good reviews and she was nominated for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards 2009, but she lost to Anne Hathaway for Bride Wars. The film itself was also nominated for Choice Movie: Romance but lost to Twilight.

On its opening weekend without Presidents' Day, the film opened #4 behind Taken, He's Just Not That Into You, and Friday the 13th grossing $15,054,000 in 2,507 theaters with a $6,005 average. As of May 22, 2009 the film grossed $44,277,350 at the domestic box office, while its worldwide box office is $106,904,619.

Home media release

The film was released by Touchstone Home Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray on June 23, 2009 in North America and in Australia on August 5, 2009.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Confessions of a Shopaholic was released on February 17, 2009 under Hollywood Records. However, an alternate tracklisting was posted on Tommy2.net on January 25, 2009. In the alternate tracklisting, Adrienne Bailon also sing "Big Spender" instead of Girlicious, and the Pussycat Dolls sing "Bad Girl" instead of Rihanna feat.Chris Brown. In addition, Ric Ocasek is said to sing "Emotion in Motion" instead, and "Music Of The Sun" by Rihanna has been replaced by "Calling You" by Kat DeLuna. Shontelle sings Stuck With Each Other with Akon for the soundtrack, Lady Gaga's "Fashion" was also in the soundtrack.