Shopgirl (2005)

Shopgirl: Directed by Anand Tucker. With Steve Martin, Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras. 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.

“Greetings again from the darkness. Gotta hand it to 60 year old Steve Martin. He cranks out the easy hits like u0026quot;Father of the Brideu0026quot; and u0026quot;Cheaper by the Dozenu0026quot; so that he can do his own pet projects like the underrated u0026quot;Bowfingeru0026quot; and now u0026quot;Shopgirlu0026quot;. Based on his own novella, Martin explores the mid-life fantasy of a powerful, rich businessman who takes on a beautiful, younger, unspoiled country girl from Vermont.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhile the insight into quiet desperation is always fascinating, Martinu0026#39;s script fails to really show any human connection between the three leads. Martinu0026#39;s own character, while easily the most privileged, is far and away the most distant and least interesting. The always interesting Claire Danes desperately wants to be loved and escape the ever-present cold existence of Vermont which continues to haunt her. Jason Schwartzman (fast cornering the market on quirky to the point of annoying dudes) is initially enamored with the idea of being with Claire (or anyone) but goes on the road with a rock band and finds himself … or at least educates himself on how to fit into society.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNot sure if any of the characters have any real redeeming qualities, but they do make for moderately interesting film-making. Bridgette Wilson (Mrs. Pete Sampras) has a fluffy role as the envious make-up queen, Sam Bottoms makes a rare screen appearance as Danes say-little Dad and Francis Conroy (Beautiful Flowers, Six Feet Under) has a brief appearance as Daines Mom. Interesting side note is that Rebecca Pigeon has a small role … she is the real life wife of the great David Mamet.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough, the lighting is atrocious and distracting in most every scene, you do find yourself hoping that someone, ANYONE, discovers a moment of real happiness. Yes, this story could have been better presented, but it is worth watching to view first hand how people pretend to connect.”