Sometimes a change of pace is not only befitting for an actor or actress, but necessary to maintain the legitimacy of their career. For the past decade, Steve Martin has been involved in a plethora of clunky comedies. 'Shopgirl,' the occasionally charming but uneven adaptation of his novella, is refreshing even though it does not really work.
'Shopgirl' is a gentle, wistful film centering on the gorgeously named Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes), a beautiful misfit who works as a clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue in Los Angeles. A Vermont native, Mirabelle feels disconnected and lonely as she spends her days clerking within Saks' contained atmosphere of swanky boredom, while her nights consist of her silently working on her art and self-photography. Over the course of the film, two sharply dissimilar men enter her life'Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), an erratic ne'er-do-well who she sleeps with purely out of physiological necessity, and Ray Porter (Martin), a wealthy, semi-retired computer executive. With his money and reserved charisma, Porter appears to be the highly superior choice.
Or is he? 'Shopgirl' mostly follows Ray and Mirabelle's relationship, but it often pauses to include seemingly superfluous scenes of Jeremy hitting the road with an up-and-coming rock band. When Ray's intimacy issues begin to assume center stage and the relationship gets increasingly bumpy, it's clear that Jeremy's role in the story is far from complete. To Martin's credit, the story does not travel the obvious roads, and the film sustains an intriguing tone of emotional uncertainty.
Under 'Hilary and Jackie' director Anand Tucker's steady hand, 'Shopgirl' is heartfelt but often crushingly somber, especially during its weighty midsection. The film starts beautifully, with a number of elegant push-in shots from the L.A. streets into Mirabelle's apartment through her bedroom ceiling window, accenting her anonymity in the big city. Danes embodies this lovely wallflower with poise and allure, and Martin excels at playing not only an efficient smooth-talker but a sometimes cold and distant one as well. Schwartzman has the most difficult role in the film, and he makes the strongest impression, especially though his excruciatingly awkward interaction with Danes in the beginning. He plays Jeremy as pathetic but likable, and mines most of the film's laughs.
However, the direction Martin takes the character of Jeremy is thematically fitting but far from plausible and there is a disingenuous stream of optimism that floods the film's unconvincing third act. In addition, aspects of 'Shopgirl' feel bloated and forcibly expanded from the novella, including the amusing but needless dealings of Mirabelle's duplicitous co-worker (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras). But it is the terribly cheesy use of slow-motion during emotionally crucial scenes and Martin's thoroughly unnecessary voiceover that hinder the film the most. The voiceover is especially odd and distracting because it is meant to be an omniscient narrator, not Ray Porter.
Although 'Shopgirl' comes up short, it is an uncommonly wise and intelligent near-miss exploring love, status, and the politics and ramifications behind a May-December relationship. The three central performances and the strength of the first third of the film offset but do not overcome the its too-languid pacing and contrivance, but overall, this is a pretty package as far as mixed bags go. Some might see 'Shopgirl' as a big step forward for Danes, but in actuality, it is mostly a small, mature step forward for an aging wild and crazy guy.
