Confessions of a Shopaholic: a charming Isla Fisher romcom worth taking to the checkout
The PJ Hogan-directed film may not have the polish of The Devil Wears Prada but it has new relevance in the buy now, pay later
The PJ Hogan-directed film may not have the polish of The Devil Wears Prada but it has new relevance in the buy now, pay later era The year was 2009. The global economy was enduring the final throes of the worst financial crisis since the second world war and Isla Fisher, clad with an American accent and a shopping addiction, played a financially illiterate New Yorker with more than $16,000 in personal debt; an auburn-haired Marie Antoinette of the late oughts.
Confessions of a Shopaholic was awarded a measly two stars by this outlet when it was released. The film, based on the Sophie Kinsella novel series of the same name and directed by the Australian film-maker PJ Hogan, was practically doomed from the start. Financially battered audiences weren’t exactly chomping at the bit to watch a plucky fashionista make terrible spending decisions for 104 minutes.
It was also just as romcoms’ box office dominance was coming to an end, replaced by a new era of unsaturated and action-packed superhero franchises. But while Confessions of a Shopaholic isn’t exactly groundbreaking, it is charming now – and arguably ahead of its time in regards to its depiction of overwhelming personal debt.
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