With her best seller “Confessions of a Shopaholic” Sophie Kinsella scored a post- 2000 success with a run of over 15 million copies. Must reading for all shopping enthusiasts.
In March 2009, the movie “Confessions of a Shopaholic” appeared, in which the action is moved from London to the unrivalled fashion and shopping capital of the world, New York. The film is a charming comedy and one that is quite worth a visit to the cinema or a film evening at home.
Rebecca Bloomwood (played by Isla Fisher) spends her life shopping and thrives on her life in glamorous Manhattan. She has 12 credit cards in her purse and even keeps one in reserve in her freezer. Like many girls, as a teenager she dreamed of a carrier as a fashion journalist.
When the credit card bill comes, she’s horrified. Previously Rebecca had noticed that her international luxury items from Gucci, Dior and co. were always reliable and accessible, unlike some of her male acquaintances. Though she was never disappointed in principle with them, now she’s facing bankruptcy with this sum.
With no more cash or available credit card balances to turn to, and even a pink slip from the job in the mailbox, now she feels the pressure to land a new job, and a lucrative one. What could be better than to use this practical opportunity to apply with Alette, a world-famous fashion magazine. But instead of landing the glamorous financial editor job, Rebecca ends up sitting in the applicant’s chair at the business magazine Successful Saving, which is located in the same building.
Now a lightning quick reaction is needed, as she doesn’t really have any clue about assets and reserves, though does seem to be lucrative in any case. And though she has to google difficult terms like “effective interest rate” and consult with cheap financial advisers to acquire basic knowledge of the industry, her boss Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy) nonetheless gives her a chance. And the finance column she writes is not just well received by him. In the column she describes a financial transaction involving the purchase of shoes and in fact knows exactly what she’s talking about.
Her shopping sprees of course continue in the meantime. And even the “Shopaholics Anonymous”, to which she sends her best friend and roommate, don’t seem to be able to keep up.
Through the film Rebecca attempts to iron out her past mistakes using all kinds of tricks and zany ideas. Of course there’ll be time for love in all the confusion: She conveniently discovers a few things she has in common with her boss editor Luke, who like her can “speak Prada”. But here again - and how could it be otherwise? - things don’t go according to plan. But in the end Rebecca ultimately realizes what the most important things in life are and that they have no price tag.