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"SHOPGIRL" (2005) (Claire Danes, Steve Martin) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Heavy Minor Heavy Minor None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Extreme Mild Minor Moderate None QUICK TAKE: Drama: A shy department store worker with a bad track record of meeting the right kind of guy ends up dating two disparate men who elicit different romantic responses from her. PLOT: Mirabelle Buttersfield (CLAIRE DANES) is an attractive but shy woman who works the glove counter at Saks in Los Angeles. She hasn't had much luck meeting Mr. Right, unlike her more adventurous coworker Lisa Cramer (BRIDGETTE WILSON-SAMPRAS), and thinks that's still the case when Jeremy (JASON SCHWARTZMAN), a socially maladroit artist introduces himself to her at the laundromat and would like a date. Initially reluctant, she decides to go out with him and the two end up sleeping together. But then she meets Ray Porter (STEVE MARTIN), an older, suave and decidedly sophisticated businessman who purchases some gloves from her and then delivers another pair to her along with a dinner invite. The two end up becoming an item, although he lays down the ground rules that he doesn't want to get into a serious relationship, a point that doesn't overjoy her, but she's so wrapped up in being swept off her feet that she doesn't care. As Jeremy ends up traveling around the country on a rock and roll tour bus, Mirabelle finds herself falling even deeper for Ray. When he proves he wasn't kidding about the casual part, she must then decide what to do about her life, their relationship and Jeremy who's returned as a changed man. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? Those looking for a date movie or who are fans of someone in the cast might be interested in it. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For some sexual content and brief language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CLAIRE DANES plays a lonely young woman who works the glove counter at a department store and has had no luck meeting Mr. Right. She then meets Jeremy and then Ray, has sex with both of them (separately) and then finds herself falling for Ray despite him wanting to keep things casual. She must then deal with having her heart broken and going off her anti-depressant medication. She drinks a bit. STEVE MARTIN plays a wealthy and suave businessman who sweeps Mirabelle off her feet (and into bed) with his charm and sophistication, but causes her conflict by paying so much attention to her, but not wanting a serious, long-term relationship. He drinks some. JASON SCHWARTZMAN plays a socially maladroit artist who takes a liking to Mirabelle but isn't sure how to act around her (although they end up having sex). After touring with a rock and roll band and listening to self help and motivational tapes, he becomes a more poised and successful man who returns to her life. He briefly uses strong profanity and has sex with Lisa when she mistakes him for Ray. BRIDGETTE WILSON-SAMPRAS plays Mirabelle's department store coworker who gives her sex advice and then seduces Jeremy (and has sex with him), thinking he's Ray. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while only a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present (covering topics such as fellatio, condom use and more) as are various sexual encounters (with partial nudity, movement, making out, sounds and the presence of sex toys in one) and the brief sight of a man with his hand in his boxers masturbating (seen through a telescope). Brief and/or partial nonsexual nudity, varying amounts of cleavage and women in revealing attire are seen in several scenes. Various characters have different sorts of bad attitudes, while some drink, others smoke and one man declines another's offer to use drugs. Some men are partially seen urinating, a man states he's divorced and a woman reacts to having stopped taking her anti-depressant medication. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE We see a case of beer on Jeremy's sofa. Miscellaneous people have drinks in a restaurant where Ray and Mirabelle order red wine. Mirabelle smells some already opened wine before bringing Ray a glass of it. He smells it and doesn't have any, suggesting that they go out. The two then have wine with dinner. Ray has wine by himself. Some miscellaneous people drink beer at a concert. A rock and roll singer asks Jeremy if he wants some dope. He declines that offer, but takes him up on his offer to travel across the country with them on their tour bus. Ray has some wine and offers some to Mirabelle, but she declines the offer. A rock and roll singer makes a comment about making what's presumably some sort of alcoholic drink. We see Ray reach for a glass of wine in front of him on a plane. Ray and another woman have what may be sake. We see a bottle of wine and glasses on a table from Ray's rendezvous the night before with another woman. We see some beer bottles on the rock and roll tour bus. Miscellaneous people have champagne at a black tie event. Miscellaneous people have drinks. Jeremy and Lisa have drinks as she tries to pick him up. She then asks if he wants to get a drink later and he says he does. We see wine by Ray and Mirabelle. Mirabelle has a beer by herself. Ray drinks some wine. BLOOD/GORE We see several rock and roll band members standing side by side urinating (we hear that, but don't see the actual act). DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Ray tells Mirabelle that he wants to keep his options open (meaning a casual relationship), stating that he travels a lot. He's honest about it, but some could view the casual sex bit as coming with a bad or disrespectful attitude toward her (although he otherwise treats her well). Mirabelle reads a letter from Ray (in his presence) where he admits he slept with someone else (Mirabelle cries over this) and is sorry, but reminds her that he informed her how he viewed their relationship (nothing serious -- even if he has led her on into thinking perhaps he changed his mind). As a way of apologizing for sleeping with another woman, we learn that Ray paid off Mirabelle's student loan (as a way of getting back into her good graces and he succeeds). Lisa decides to steal Mirabelle's mystery man away from her, but not knowing what he looks like, she mistakes Jeremy for Ray. Ray jokes to Mirabelle that he's getting a three bedroom place in New York in case he meets someone and they have kids, but Mirabelle is hurt by that comment. She asks him why he doesn't love her and he replies that he thought she understood (about their casual relationship). FRIGHTENING SCENES Mirabelle appears to have a nervous breakdown in the department store (we later learn she stopped taking her anti-depressant medication). GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "F*ck it," "Oh sh*t," "Pisses me off" and "You saved our ass." We see that Jeremy has a stencil mark on his hand. A miscellaneous woman wears a midriff-revealing top. A miscellaneous person has many tattoos on their arms. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 1 "f" word, 1 "s" word, 1 slang term for sex ("do it"), 1 ass and 3 uses each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Lisa shows varying amounts of cleavage in various outfits (some of them low-cut) throughout the film. As Mirabelle takes an artsy Polaroid photo of herself, we see her drop her robe in passing back to her bed (and we may see brief/partial upper nudity). We then see a head and shoulders shot of her on the bed with the camera presumably taking a full nude shot of her (that we don't see). We see Mirabelle in just a towel. Mirabelle hears a specialist on the radio stating that the afterglow is more important than the sex act itself. We see Jeremy at home in a t-shirt and boxers. Once in Mirabelle's place, Jeremy asks if that's her bedroom. She says it is and we then see her sitting on her bed as he nervously runs his jacket zipper up and down. She then reclines back on her bed (clothed) in an inviting pose and the two then passionately kiss there, with her stopping them to ask if he has a condom. He says he does, but then realizes it's a breath mint. He then asks if she has a bag, saying he could use a Jiffy bag in place of a condom. Dejected, she asks if he just wants to hug and he sarcastically replies, "Yeah." He then leaves to get a condom, but spots her neighbor and asks him. He then returns with one and she's mortified where he got it. He then asks if she still wants to "do it" and then if she wants a massage (and he makes such a motion with his hands out in front of him, almost as if emulating doing so to her breasts). We then see a torso shot of him on top of her (she's in her bra), as well as another shot of their lower legs and feet at the end of the bed (with his boxers around his). We see them passionately kissing and hear sexual sounds. Her cat then hops up on the bed and he adversely reacts with a comment about it playing with his "balls." He asks if that happens often and she sarcastically replies "Yeah, every night." He then says that maybe he should just go home, but we then see them in bed together under the covers, presumably after sex, but they're not lying next to each other. Jeremy then stands and we see him in his boxers. Giving Mirabelle advice about men, Lisa comments on fellatio, says the sooner the better and to perform it a lot before cutting him off. Mirabelle then says she can't do that, adding that she's from Vermont. Mirabelle shows a little cleavage. We see Mirabelle in a bubble bath, but don't see anything explicit. Using binoculars to try to see her house from Ray's, Mirabelle accidentally spots Jeremy in his place, apparently masturbating. We see hand movement in his boxers and he then takes a peak into them (we don't see anything else). Ray and Mirabelle do some passionate kissing while clothed and standing. He then puts his hand to her chest, but a phone call interrupts them. When he returns, he finds her lying face down on the bed, completely nude. We see two views of her that way (we see her bare butt), as well as a close-up of his hand caressing her bare skin (nothing explicit, but sensual). Sex is implied. In Jeremy's tour bus compartment, we see a poster on the wall showing a bikini-clad young woman seen from a side view (we see most of her bare butt that way). Ray talks to his therapist about Mirabelle, with that man saying, "But you want to sleep with her." Ray says he does and then sheepishly says he essentially told her he likes to sleep with her when he's in town, but then adds that although it's really just a sexual relationship, he told her they should see others. We see Mirabelle in just a towel as she shaves her leg. Mirabelle appears to be nude down below the camera shot (she has a top on) as we see some bare skin, but nothing explicit. Trying to seduce Ray, Mirabelle drops her robe in front of him (we see her bare back, he presumably sees everything) and then dons some long gloves. We then see both in bed side by side, with her having a look of ecstasy on her face. Ray gives Mirabelle a sexy dress as a gift. He then has his hand somewhere on her (we don't see it) that causes a pleasured look on her face. Jeremy listens to a self-help audio program called "Intimate Connections" (but we don't hear any of it and don't know the actual content). We see Mirabelle in just a nightgown in bed. We see Mirabelle in a bubble-bath again and see the top of her bare chest, but nothing explicit. We see Mirabelle and Ray in bed asleep and see her bare back. A woman suggestively asks Ray how he'd like to just lie there (adding what sounded like "like it's Thailand"), and then when it's over (presumably meaning sex) she'd just slip away into the night. The next morning, we see Ray getting dressed while that woman is asleep in bed. After they're back together following him having slept with another woman, Mirabelle tells Ray that she's not ready yet to make love. Lisa shows more cleavage as she's bent over at her store counter. The camera focuses on Mirabelle's clothed chest in her dress (representing Lisa's point of view). Lisa decides to steal Mirabelle's mystery man away from her, but not knowing what he looks like, she mistakes Jeremy for Ray. We then see them back at Lisa's place where various sex toys (such as dildos, etc.) are present. She then walks in wearing a tight bustier, garters, fishnet stockings and small panties (not a thong, but revealing) and pushes him to the bed. She then gets on top of him and starts grinding away (he's clothed), sounding aroused and repeating "Oh, Ray!" (which he repeats, not knowing what it means). She later wakes up in bed (where we see handcuffs hanging from the bedpost and a dildo on the bed) and talks to Jeremy who's back home on the phone, not knowing who he is. He then reminds her "Remember we were doing all those Oriental positions?" Mirabelle kisses on Ray's face and sex is implied. We see the shape of Mirabelle's body (but no details) through a smoked glass shower door. About Mirabelle and Jeremy, the narrator states that they made love for the second time in fourteen months. He then states that Jeremy offered her his heart and that she offered equal parts of her to him. An abstract, artsy drawing shows a nude woman lying down and we see the bare breasts. When Ray tells Mirabelle that the new woman in his life is a gynecologist, Mirabelle says that they'll have a lot to discuss. SMOKING A number of miscellaneous people smoke in several scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES As the narrator, Ray states that he's divorced. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Older men dating younger women. Casual sex. Mirabelle appears to have a nervous breakdown in the department store (we later learn she stopped taking her anti-depressants). Mirabelle states that her dad doesn't speak much following Vietnam. We later see him when she visits and he appears a little "shell-shocked" but otherwise functional. Ray states that financial matters are easy for him, while emotional ones are not. VIOLENCE None. Reviewed October 12, 2005 / Posted October 28, 2005

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