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Shopgirl

  • 2005
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 46m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
25K
YOUR RATING
Claire Danes, Steve Martin, and Jason Schwartzman in Shopgirl (2005)
Trailer1
Play trailer2:21
11 Videos
40 Photos
DramaRomance

A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.A film adaptation of Steve Martin's novel about a complex love triangle between a bored salesgirl, a wealthy businessman and an aimless young man.

  • Director
    • Anand Tucker
  • Writer
    • Steve Martin
  • Stars
    • Steve Martin
    • Claire Danes
    • Jason Schwartzman
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    25K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Anand Tucker
    • Writer
      • Steve Martin
    • Stars
      • Steve Martin
      • Claire Danes
      • Jason Schwartzman
    • 281User reviews
    • 96Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 7 nominations total

    Videos11

    Shopgirl
    Trailer 2:21
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 0:51
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 0:51
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 1:07
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 1:08
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 0:35
    Shopgirl
    Shopgirl
    Clip 0:55
    Shopgirl

    Photos40

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    Top cast51

    Edit
    Steve Martin
    Steve Martin
    • Ray Porter
    Claire Danes
    Claire Danes
    • Mirabelle
    Jason Schwartzman
    Jason Schwartzman
    • Jeremy
    Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
    Bridgette Wilson-Sampras
    • Lisa Cramer
    Sam Bottoms
    Sam Bottoms
    • Dan Buttersfield
    Frances Conroy
    Frances Conroy
    • Catherine Buttersfield
    Rebecca Pidgeon
    Rebecca Pidgeon
    • Christie Richards
    Samantha Shelton
    Samantha Shelton
    • Loki
    Gina Doctor
    • Del Rey
    Clyde Kusatsu
    Clyde Kusatsu
    • Mr. Agasa
    Romy Rosemont
    Romy Rosemont
    • Loan Officer
    Joshua Snyder
    Joshua Snyder
    • Trey Bryan
    Rachel Nichols
    Rachel Nichols
    • Trey's Girlfriend
    Shane Edelman
    Shane Edelman
    • Chet
    Emily Kuroda
    Emily Kuroda
    • Japanese Woman
    Jayzel Samonte
    Jayzel Samonte
    • Houseboy
    Mark Kozelek
    • Luther
    John Fedevich
    • Hot Tears Band Member
    • (as Johnny Fedevich)
    • Director
      • Anand Tucker
    • Writer
      • Steve Martin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews281

    6.325.1K
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    Featured reviews

    7JackCerf

    Only Connect

    Edward Hopper was the great painter of urban loneliness. Shopgirl had two perfectly composed and lit shots that could pass for Hopper paintings -- the one where we first see Mirabelle behind the glove counter at Saks, and the one where she solves the problem of how exactly to cross the intimacy threshold with Ray for the first time. Both involve the display of exquisite merchandise to customers who have excellent taste but don't quite appreciate the full value of what's being offered.

    The relationship between Ray and Mirabelle is, of course, a transaction. Ray is what used to be called a sugar daddy. He knows it, and within the limits of that role he is apparently a generous and considerate keeper. We aren't given Ray's back story, but it is not hard to guess that a symbolic logician who made a fortune in computers might have been socially challenged, to put it mildly, as a young man, and suffered a good deal of rejection from women. He can now buy what he couldn't then woo, but experience has taught him never to relinquish control and never to let himself be vulnerable. A few hundred million dollars have cleaned up his exterior nicely and given him power over his surroundings, but the inner nerd is still there.

    Mirabelle certainly appreciates the value of what Ray can do for her. Consider the shot in Vermont where she gazes at her dried out, prematurely worn mother and decides she'll meet Ray in New York after all. But Mirabelle refuses to admit to herself that she is only being kept. We are meant to think the better of her for her self deception. The sluttish, annoying and frankly mercenary but cheerfully self aware Lisa is there to draw an unfavorable contrast with Mirabelle. Paradoxically, it is Mirabelle's self-deceived integrity, and her refusal to use the crude manipulations Lisa suggests, that make her a more exquisite ornament for Ray -- gourmet arm candy for a man with the finest taste. Both women are punished for self deception, but Lisa suffers only comic humiliation while Mirabelle sets herself up for real pain.

    Jeremy has the makings of a Ray in him, but we are meant to believe that he has -- implausibly -- attained emotional enlightenment, if not the capacity for articulate speech or sustained rational thought. He has earned Mirabelle, we are told, because he has remade himself to be worthy of her. Love may not conquer all in this bittersweet anti-romance, but it still does better than break even.
    evanston_dad

    A Nearly Terrible Film

    I hope for Steve Martin's sake (and book sales) that the novella on which this desultory movie is based is better than the movie itself.

    Claire Danes, who I wanted desperately to like, gives a catatonic performance as a lonely young woman looking for love, or at least human contact, in L.A. A love triangle of sorts develops between her, a wacky spaced-out nice guy (Jason Schwartzman) and an older, very well off divorcée (Steve Martin), who's nearly as catatonic as Danes. Absolutely nothing of significance or originality happens as this story builds toward a conclusion you can predict before the opening credits have even finished rolling. The characters played by Danes and Martin are such drips that you can't muster up one iota of interest in what happens to either of them or their love affair. The film moves at a woeful pace, and everything's set to a funereal, repetitive string score. The only life in the film comes from Schwartzman, who has far too small a role. In fact, why not just make a movie about him next time?

    Grade: C-
    7noralee

    Off-Kilter Modern Romance

    "Shopgirl" is an off-kilter modern romance. It plays on several conventions of movies, from the old-fashioned "The Shop Around the Corner" to the fairy tale "Pretty Woman," but takes surprising turns away from those stereotypes.

    The look and sound of the film are half of its appeal, from Peter Suschitzky's dreamy cinematography, to the production and art design that has each character in their own color scheme, to the enthralling score by Barrington Pheloung, though the atmospherics almost overwhelm the three characters who frequently seem like pieces in a set design as the camera slowly glides back to reveal an entire mise en scene.

    Claire Danes is radiant and holds our eye and sympathy throughout the film, as we see life mostly from her first naive than wiser perspective, though she is portrayed as just about the last sweet young woman in the country, as all the other women seem pretty cold-blooded. While she has an underlying problem common to such in TV and movies these days, it is handled surprisingly visually and tenderly.

    Over fourteen months, she encounters a bumbling young suitor, the adorably scruffy Jason Schwartzman, who even as his character matures retains endearing enthusiasm and quirks, and a sugar daddy in a somewhat mysterious Steve Martin, who is more believable than "Sex and the City"s similar "Mr Big." Ironically, the few physical comedy scenes are with Schwartzman, not Martin-- and that's a very funny scene about a condom, as this film in its quiet way is pretty frank about sex.

    An occasional voice-over narration is obtrusive and unnecessary, even as Martin's adaptation of his novella claims the need for an omniscient observer, but the camera and the characters' body language visually communicate the same information. The sudden insertion of a parallel scene where two main characters suddenly explain themselves to listeners who we didn't know previously existed in their lives is a bit too convenient and doesn't really fit.

    But the film is on the whole winning, as each character very gradually learns about who they are and who they can be, about the meaning of life, love, success and human connections, and about the clear-eyed choices they can make to attain these, to change or not. While the bulk of the film is set in Los Angeles, it feels like a picaresque journey of discovery as they go from one scene to another.

    The song selections are marvelous, particularly Mark Kozelek's varied twists on different genres to reflect the different characters. It's a cute joke to have Schwartzman's "Jeremy" as a roadie when he has been on the road with Phantom Planet.

    The costume design by Nancy Steiner is lovely; clearly the shopgirl was using all the discounts available to her at Saks even before a paternalistic benefactor picks up the tab.
    8nineandthreequarters

    Sometimes faith in Steve Martin IS justified

    It's no real secret that through his writing, Steve Martin has depth and sentimentality that Hollywood doesn't always let him show. He has shown signs of a longing to grow old gracefully (as his almost gimmick-free gigs as Oscar host have shown) and let his acerbic wit and insight drive projects more than the over-the-top slapstick antics of the 1970s Steve Martin.

    It's also no real secret that many of his recent films have been far from great.

    So, still having faith in the man, and having loved the novel on which this film is based, I went in to the cinema desperately wanting to like it, but expecting to be disappointed. Largely, I was pleasantly surprised that the novel did transfer well to the screen.

    Some of the credit for this belongs to director Anand Tucker, who has created some powerful images of the hustle and bustle of the LA that Martin describes in the novel, and contrasts it well with the characters who lead shallow lives, trying to be something meaningful amongst all the chaos.

    Credit also goes to the actors who show that longing that drives the situation: Claire Daines as Mirabelle clearly WANTS to be social, artistic, loved; Jason Schwartzman as Jeremy WANTS to be sensitive, witty, lovable; Martin as Ray Porter clearly WANTS to be suave and considerate. Without having many jokes in the script, audiences can still appreciate the humour by seeing these pathetic struggles. When I saw it there was plenty of laughter at all the right moments.

    I will, however, hasten to add that there are parts of the book that never would have translated well to the Hollywood screen, and the praise that some give the movie for serving its purpose will contain the same reasons that others wish to knock it. The book's strength is that one can feel for the characters because they are portrayed as superficial people and their lives and conversations are so shallow in comparison to the narrative that sets them up. The reasons why it works so well as a book could well be the very things that cause it to not work on the screen. Then there's the matter of a book that's so rooted in "LA sux" sentiment being made into a Hollywood movie. So maybe the musical overkill reeked of "excuse me, we're trying to tell you something". Maybe the spots of narration felt out of place and indicated that Martin is not yet over his desire to spend his life as the 'star' of his projects (him getting top billing for the movie was also a bit much, in my opinion).

    Ultimately, maybe the audience members who were longing for a film with more 'depth' and 'substance' were in actuality sharing the characters' longings for the same in their own lives. Maybe the 'criticisms' are in fact backhanded compliments that the film is largely doing just what it's meant to do.
    6rslssp

    A Well-Meaning But Too Downbeat Rom Com

    After some of the lesser films Steve Martin has been in lately, namely Cheaper by the Dozen, Bringing Down the House, and the like, it's a welcome sight to see him doing serious work. Shopgirl, adapted by Martin from his novella, is arguably his most serious work, and easily his most dramatic performance. However, in the world of Oscar prospects especially, the film will likely receive few accolades. Despite strong efforts from the cast, the film crashed between depressing drama and farcical comedy with none of the grace required.

    The main issue with the film is Anand Tucker's direction. Only his second feature film, following 1998's Hilary and Jackie, Shopgirl is played far too serious. A heavy camera seems to plod its way through scene after scene. Several moments, mostly those with Jason Schwartzman in them, try to lighten things; but even some fairly good laughs cannot remove the feeling that this isn't a very happy film.

    It is perhaps unfair to blame Tucker for the mood entirely. Similar complaints were leveled against Martin's original novella. But how much more endearing, how much more fun, this film would've been under someone like Rob Reiner. It is, after all, a comedy of relationship errors. There is drama here but the heart and soul of the story is in the laughter. The mistake is entirely in playing it as a drama with comedy, not a dramatic comedy.

    The other main flaw is the tedious, and essentially needless, voice-over narration. Whether in screenplay format the narration read fine, or if it was added later to clarify the film for mainstream audiences, it detract. The actors are all capable enough to express their emotions without explanation. It is not hard to tell when a young woman goes home to an empty apartment and a cat that she is lonely. As remarked by a man sitting behind me: "A movie loses something when it has to be explained." The problem with the narration here is that Shopgirl doesn't need to be explained, but is.

    Not helping the dreary atmosphere is Barrington Pheloung's ridiculously over-dramatic score. Echoing the work of Alexandre Desplat, especially Girl With a Pearl Earring (produced by Tucker), Pheloung seems insistent upon forcing drama into every note. The music plays less as an underscore than as an upstaging diva. Other technical work reaches must loftier heights. Nancy Steiner's endearing costume design, a cross between her work on The Virgin Suicides and a Day/Hudson comedy, gives instant heart to the characters. Danes' Mirabelle benefits the most. Likewise the art direction, by Sue Chan and David Smith, is delightful. Danes' apartment has an apt Vermont-meets-L.A. feel whereas Martin's two homes are cold and hollow, like his character.

    The curious thing is that when all the elements come together Shopgirl is an enjoyable experience. As it was playing I really liked it. But when all is said and done there is something missing. Once you stop laughing you realize it is a profoundly unhappy film. Despite the strong and endearing performances the film is simply too sad to win any hearts, but well-meaning enough not to send any away.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      For the scene in Mirabelle's bedroom where the cat jumps on the bed and watches her and Jeremy, there were actually two cats used. The director explains in his commentary that one could jump but never watched, and the other was good at watching but couldn't jump.
    • Goofs
      The card that Ray sends to Mirabelle reads "I would like to have dinner with you" in block print, with a signature at the bottom. When we see this card again at the very end of the movie, the signature has been replaced by "Ray Porter" in block print.
    • Quotes

      Ray Porter: As Ray Porter watches Mirabelle walk away he feels a loss. How is it possible, he thinks, to miss a woman whom he kept at a distance so that when she was gone he would not miss her. Only then does he realize that wanting part of her and not all of her had hurt them both and how he cannot justify his actions except that... well... it was life.

    • Connections
      Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode #13.53 (2005)
    • Soundtracks
      Lily & Parrots
      Written and Performed by Mark Kozelek

      Published by God Forbid (BMI)

      Courtesy of Jetset Records

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    FAQ21

    • How long is Shopgirl?Powered by Alexa
    • why does Steve Martin narrate and also play a character? are these supposed to come across as related? it seems separate to me, since the narrative is in third person.

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 29, 2006 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • 灰姑娘的愛情手套
    • Filming locations
      • 2250 Apollo Dr., Los Angeles, California, USA(Ray Porter's home.)
    • Production companies
      • Touchstone Pictures
      • Hyde Park Entertainment
      • Brass Hat Films Slate 1 Shopgirl
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $10,200,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $10,284,523
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $229,685
      • Oct 23, 2005
    • Gross worldwide
      • $11,675,161
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 46 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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