CORPORATE LINE: In this screen adaptation of Jennifer Weiner’s bestselling novel, Toni Collette (MURIEL’S WEDDING) is Rose Feller, an overweight, overworked, and painfully undersexed lawyer who fills an emotional void with pints of Haagen-Dazs and a closetful of expensive shoes that she never wears. Little sis Maggie (an always radiant Cameron Diaz), who is prone to public drunkenness, one night stands, and wearing lingerie as outerwear, is as lacking in career prospects as her sister is in romantic ones. When her irresponsible behavior gets her kicked out of her father’s house by her spiteful stepmother, Maggie has nowhere to crash but her elder sister’s couch. But, after she ignites a series of disasters ranging from the minor to the catastrophic, Maggie is cast out by her angry older sibling, with no job, no money, and no one to take her in. She finds a stash of hidden letters in her father’s desk drawer that enable to track down her estranged grandmother (the wonderfully centered Shirley MacLaine) in a Florida retirement community, hoping to use her impressive skills of manipulation and false charm to financial benefit. While Maggie begins to adapt to life as a nubile young fish in the waters of shuffleboard and wheelchairs, Rose, up in the wintry north, quits her stifling job and begins her own personal transformation. Both women’s paths to spiritual growth and self-actualization might ring false if handled by less nuanced performers and a flashier director, but here they are subtle enough to be both inspiring and realistic.
THE REVIEW: In Her Shoes is definitely a chick flick. Toni Collette definitely outshines Cameron Diaz. Diaz is hard to believe in her role as the bad girl. Collette is great as the sympathetic character. The biggest problem is how long it takes for the film to get to the meat of the story. It’s not until well past the midway point where Diaz and MacLaine appear onscreen together that In Her Shoes gets going.
IN HER SHOES
THE EXTRAS:
There is no commentary track.
“The People in the Shoes” – A featurette that features Collette, Diaz, Hanson, and MacLaine discuss the making of the film.
“A Retirement Community for Acting Seniors” is one of the usual studio promo pieces.
FRANKLY: In Her Shoes might be a chick flick—but I had to stick around just to see how it ended—even though the ending is obvious. MacLaine is hilarious along with her gal pals of the retirement home. If it weren’t for MacLaine and pals In Her Shoes would be a miss.
+ Charlie Craine
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