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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2005)
■ Movie review Martin s ,Shopgirl is better in print than on screen The film centers on Mirabelle, an unassuming saleswoman at Saks, and her two disparate suitors BY KRISTEN GERHARD PULSE REPORTER At 60 years of age, Steve Martin has been around the entertainment indus try block a number of times, reincarnat ed in a variety of characters. In the late 70s, he was a wild and crazy guy on "Saturday Night Live." In the '80s, he was an actor-turned-amigo in "Three Amigos" and a deranged dentist in "Lit tle Shop of Horrors." In the '90s, he was America's favorite anxious dad in "Fa ther of the Bride," and recently, he's starred in a few fluffier films, like "Bringing Down the House" and "Cheaper by the Dozen," that have left some fans scratching their heads. Martin as comedic actor is a role most of America is familiar with, but Martin as playwright, contributor to The New Yorker and scribe of three suc cessful novels is a lesser-known part In 2001, Martin released his second book, the 130-page novella "Shopgirl," which enjoyed a stay on The New York Times' bestsellers list Friday, the film adapta tion of the book was released nation wide and the public was formally intro duced to this alternative Martin. The film revolves, albeit slowly, around three characters: Mirabelle, Je remy and Ray Porter. Mirabelle, played by Claire Danes, is a late-twenties sin gle woman with the genuinely unas suming nature of a pubescent girl. When the film opens, she's working at an inconsequential job, selling a prod uct nobody's buying atthe glove count er at Saks Fifth Avenue. As an aspiring artist, she'd moved from Vermont to Los Angeles to break into the scene, but she is treading water—full of appre hension in a sea of Type-A personalities —when the audience first meets her. Jeremy and Ray serve as love inter ests in Mirabelle's life, despite the fact that she sees little in herself that could be deemed lovable. She meets Jeremy, played by Jason Schwartzman, first and goes on a few dates with the bum bling young man who stencils fonts on amplifiers for a living and only has enough money to make itto Mirabelle's frontdoor. However, Jeremy fails to hold her interest ortreasure Mirabelle as she requires. So when Ray, an older and very successful businessman played by Martin, strides into her life, buys an expensive pair of gloves from her counter and sends them to her home with a card asking herto dinner, she leaps head first into the opportunity to be doted upon. Essentially, "Shopgirl" is a film about these excruciatingly real relationships, with all the bland and uncomfortable moments included and no rose-col ored Hollywood filter applied. Mirabelle and Jeremy's first sexual ex perience is painfully clumsy and Ray, on his first date with Mirabelle, moves from "date questions" to "date com ments" as if the process is simply a for mula to which he must adhere. The film is admirable in that it simply tells a story and leaves room for audience interpre tation, provoking thought about socie tal standards of financial responsibility, age discrepancy and communication in romantic affairs without passing any blatant judgments on the issues. Since Martin adapted the "Shop girl" screenplay himself, much of the dialogue and exposition translates di rectly from the book. The characters continue to drive the story more than the plot and the essential moments, such as the evolution of Mirabelle and Ray's relationship from romantic to parental, really shine. In an interview with The Columbus Dispatch, Martin said he did not write the book with a movie in mind, but the transition from JORDAN SCHNITZER MUSEUM OF ART Inside the Floating World A Lecture by Allen Hockley, Dartmouth College Noted scholar of Japanese prints and curator of the exhibition SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2:00 P.M. • FREE LECTURE On view through January 8, 2006: Inside the Floating World: Japanese Prints from the Lenoir C. Wright Collection Organized by the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Sponsors OREGON IMAGING CENTERS Lee Michels, M.D. 1430 Johnson Lane on campus (541)346-3027 http://jsma.uoregon.edu Left: Utagawa Kuniyasu, Ebisu, c. 1820. EO/AA/ADA institution committed to cultural diversity o UNIVERSITY OF OREGON page to screen is quite smooth. However, many of the points and practical background from the book become too submersed in the film. For instance, in the movie, Mirabelle visits her home in Vermont and the audience catches a glimpse of the dismal life led by her parents. In the text, the reader is able to climb in side Mirabelle's head and hear what she thinks about her mother and fa ther, but in the movie, the viewer is left to posit what the dreary tension at home is all about. There are a few brief moments of exposition by Mar tin, who serves as an omniscient narrator, that help clarify the story line and may have proved beneficial in larger doses. However, Martin's dual roles as both narrator and actor may have been an other mistake in adaptation. In the novella, the reader is able to access Ray's inner monologue, making the character more vulnerable and real. Despite his age, he is just as emotional ly screwed up as Mirabelle and Jere my. In the film, however, Ray is associ ated with the all-knowing narrator making him seem flawless, even though he isn't, thus making him too powerful. What was very admirable about the characters in the book was thatthey all seemed to have their faults, but this gets lost in the film. Jeremy, however, is better on screen. His process of self-discovery, which takes place after he and Mirabelle part ways and he takes a journey around the country with a rock band, is underdeveloped in the book but well displayed in the film. Also, Schwartzman brings the role to life in a way that makes him more humorous and oddly lovable, instead of just plain pathetic. However, he plays Jeremy in a manner similarto his roles as Max Fischer in "Rushmore" and Albert Markovski in "I Heart Huckabees," thus coming off funny in a cute, quirky STEVE MARTIN CLAIRE DANES JASON SCHWARTZMAN ilf i#l*S 4-4-*'t $9 m Ij « •t * • « » {%«!' shopgirl Courtesy way, but inaccessible on a deeper emotional level. Danes' casting was another good fit. As the meek Mirabelle, she appears appropriately unassuming and almost naive, which belies the intelligence her genuine responses and witticisms in conversation display. She is plain but attractive, making her both lovable and sexually desirable. And she brings back her wholly believable, quivering chin cry that made fans feel for her as Beth March in "Little Women" and Juliet Capulet in "Romeo + Juliet" Overall, the film is interesting and even manages to squeeze some very uncomfortable humor out of a seri ous plotline, but it is not without faults. The pacing is disappointingly slow for an adaptation of a book that one could probably finish in a matter of hours, and for a film that is largely reliant on its characters, the devel opment of emotions and back-sto ries is lacking. "Shopgirl" will likely please those who have read the book, but leave those who haven't wondering what, after nearly two hours of theater time, they were supposed to take away with them. kgerhard@dailyemerald.com lb YEARS OF BULLSHIT' spoken word toub GENERAL ADMISSION Concert Tickets, Detailed Event and Venue Info at www.mcdonaldtheatre.com Tickets Available at Safeway TfcketsWGSt Outlets I And Charge By Phone 1 -800-992-TIXX Service charges may apply General Admission WILL CALL Tickets at mcdonaldtheatre.com i r IR1 Wt fcri c m\c wiaa cRm fc wintmtw mv DAMIAN' MARLEY •«c THE EMPIRE NOVEMBER! Saturday , N0VEM8IB w
