Addictions and laughter abound in "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

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Addictions and laughter abound in "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

This piece represents the opinion of the author:

February 27, 2009

I have a confession to make: I hate shopping. The bright lights and music in malls give me headaches. There are clothes everywhere and I get discombobulated with all the colors. And then there's the money thing. I have a hard time justifying spontaneous purchases and end up just putting things back rather than opening up my wallet.

I have another confession to make: I loved "Confessions of a Shopaholic." I may not like shopping, but I did like watching a movie about a young woman so consumed by clothes, shoes, jewelry, and bags that she looks like an animated Vogue ad walking down the streets in Manhattan.

Rebecca Bloom (Isla Fisher) is a shopaholic. She cannot walk past stores without the colorfully clad mannequins beckoning her insideNew York's most expensive stores to spend the last $10 on each of her 12 credit cards.

Unfortunately, Rebecca's compulsive habit has put her more than $16,000 in debt. With the dry and colorless city debt collector Derek Smeath on her tail, Rebecca has had to come up with some pretty clever excuses about why she can't meet Mr. Smeath. Most of these excuses involve Finland, because, let's face it, "No one checks up on Finland."

Meanwhile, Rebecca is trying to climb the ladder of fashion journalistic success by breaking into the renowned fashion magazine Alette. However, after a strange twist of events and a lot of tequila, Rebecca ends up working instead for a financial magazine run by the same publishing company as Alette. The new editor of the magazine, Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), wants hard-hitting financial news that will investigate the hypocrisy and scandals of the financial world. Sound familiar?

Rebecca becomes "The Girl in the Green Scarf," a columnist who relates the complicated world of finance to real people through fashion and shopping analogies. Ironically, the girl who can't run her own finances is advising the rest of New York on theirs.

Known for her blunt observations, Rebecca gains recognition as a financial columnist, even as her own financial life spins out of control. Rebecca even goes so far as to claim that Derek Smeath is her stalker ex-boyfriend to keep Luke from learning the truth about her debt. Rebecca's "explanations" just end up getting her in more and more trouble. How will she ever make it out from under the pressure of her lies and the debt? Especially if someone actually does check up on Finland?

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" may be a chick flick, but it's also a humorous, honest look at the fiscal crisis hitting our country. The innocent "everyman" is being punished for the greed of the top dogs, as stories of executives taking pay bonuses while their company's stock plummets start to surface. And we're all starting to pay for our crazy consumerism and reckless spending. It's scary to think that 20-somethings are $16,000 in debt, and not because of some big investment like a house, but just by spending without caution. Like Rebecca's case, the day of reckoning will come, whether in the form of a ruthless Derek Smeath or maybe through something more menacing: bankruptcy. Everyone has to take a hard look at their spending habits and wonder if all that stuff is really worth it.

Maybe like Rebecca, we'll be lucky and find a supportive community behind us who will help us find our strength and get back on our feet, but I don't think that community is Congress. We might have to figure out this crisis ourselves, but before we can change, we will have to stand up and admit our addiction.

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