Shopgirl

Steve Martin wrote the screenplay and served as co-producer for this screen adaptation of his short novel, which takes a witty but bittersweet look at a young woman and the two men involved with her. Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is an aspiring artist in her mid-twenties who, after ...more

It's hard to believe that Steve Martin—that wild and crazy guy—is an even better writer than he is actor/comedian. But this much is true. He's a man of many hats with the film adaptation of his best-selling novella, Shopgirl; he wrote the screenplay and stars in the film about Mirabelle Buttersfield, a sweet, unassuming art school student from Vermont who moves to Los Angeles and works at the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue, while intermittently selling pieces of her art. Mirabelle is ...more

Claire Danes gives an interesting performance in Shopgirl. Her character is looking for happiness and fulfillment, but she suffers from depression and takes medication that flattens out her moods. Her Mirabelle Buttersfield has a pretty good clue as to what she wants out of life, she is simply having trouble finding it. Ray Porter, the older man who romances her, sees her as a delicate, elegant, fragile creature. Those adjectives are all accurate descriptions of her, but they certainly do not ...more