Austin Film Festival: Shopgirl

Fritz here. Arriving at the Austin Film Festival, I see two lines. One is for "badges," people who are either hugely connected or willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a badge. The second line is for "passes," schmucks like myself who can only spend $35 on a pass to see all the films. A few people behind me in line is Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles (in a wheelchair). This makes me feel like less of a schmuck for being in the pass line. We wait, and wait, and wait. The badge people will be let in first, and if there is any room left in the theater, the passes people will be let in. The badge line inches forward. I later learn it is being held up because every audience member is being searched for recording equipment. Whenever the badge line seems to make progress, more badge people casually stroll up to the back of the badge line, making our entrance seem unlikely. The plump, middle-aged woman behind me in line chirps, "It's a caste system. They're the brahmins." Finally, the brahmins are all inside and our line gets in. I sprint to a seat and watch Jason Schwartzmann (Rushmore) and Claire Danes (My So-Called Life) introduce the film. Apparently, it was completed two years ago (according to Danes, who is a couple of inches taller than her co-star) and is just being released now. Oh, and a group of people in a vehicle labeled The Duck Boat, or something like that, threw a duckbill-shaped whistle at me when I was standing in line. I have nothing to add to that, except that I am not making it up.

I really like Steve Martin. His early comedies like The Jerk, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and All of Me are hilarious. His script and performance in 1987's Roxanne are both exquisite. The scene where he stands in front of a crowded bar and comes up with 20 insults more clever than "big nose" is one of my all-time favorite comedic scenes. The insults he comes up with are funny on the surface, but there is also an underlying melancholy to the scene because Martin is basically tearing himself to shreds in front of everyone he knows. As a writer, Martin is often able to achieve such complexity. Bowfinger and L.A. Story are also scripts that are more thoughtful than they may seem on the surface. So, it is with a heavy heart that I declare Shopgirl to be a bit of a misfire for a talented writer and performer.

Based on Martin's novella of the same name, it follows Mirabelle (Claire Danes), who works at the glove counter of Saks Fifth Avenue in Los Angeles. She feels disconnected from those around her, but gradually comes out of her shell somewhat when she meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzmann) and Ray (Steve Martin). Jeremy is an aspiring font creator and Ray is a millionaire businessman who knows he is too old for Mirabelle, but pursues a relationship (which Ray wants to remain casual) anyway.

Part of the problem is that it is hard to really feel much of anything for the two male leads. Jeremy disappears for large portions of the films middle third. More often than not, he seems more like a collection of quirks than a real character. Ray is too old for Mirabelle, and he knows it. While not a complete scoundrel, he still knowingly strings Mirabelle along and cheats on her. In addition, Martin tacks on a voice-over himself that, while not frequent, still feels stilted and heavy-handed. It seems as though Martin the writer fell in love with his prose and felt the need to impose some of it on the film.

Being a Martin script, however, there are some good moments. One very good scene about halfway through effectively conveys the sad fact that, when it comes to relationships, we tend to see what we want to see and hear what we want to hear, as opposed to what is actually there. This is not a bad film. To compare it to other films starring Martin, it is nowhere near as execrable as Cheaper by the Dozen or Mixed Nuts. Unfortunately, Shopgirl falls short, the work of a gifted writer who just couldn't quite get a handle on his story.

F.E.