American entertainer Steve Martin has had a fabulous career, from his early, frenetic days as a wild and crazy stand-up comic to his prolific acting career in Hollywood films and now to a burgeoning writing career. He is now back on our movie screens with ‘Shopgirl’, a film which is an adaptation of his novella of the same name, and in which he plays one of the leading roles.

The shopgirl of the title is Mirabella, played by the talented Claire Daines, whose been getting a lot of screen work lately. Mirabella’s story is that she is an attractive, arty young woman who has moved from the beautiful sleepy town of Vermont to the fast pace of Los Angeles and is just feeling her way. She scores a position in the gloves section of Saks department store, and her presence does not go unnoticed. Soon she has two suitors, who come from polar opposites of the social stratus, and vie for her affections.

She meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman) at her local laundromat. He is a young, down and out sort of guy and a music head, and about the same age as her. Mirabella finds him a bit cute and sees he’s got some potential however he has got a long way to go.

Millionaire businessman Ray Porter, played by Steve Martin, is a different package all together. He is a much older man, well dressed, confident and suave, and shows Mirabelle a whole other lifestyle.

Which man will the Shopgirl choose? Will Jeremy get his together and prove that he can make something of his life? Will Ray Porter finally be able to commit?

You’ll have to see the movie to find out but what I can say is that ‘Shopgirl’ was a surprising movie for Steve Martin. I associate Martin with a slapstick, anarchistic style,- remember ‘Three Amigos’, ‘A Man with Two Brains’, his play ‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’ that was a great hit when Belvoir Street Theatre produced it.

‘Shopgirl’ is in a very different style. The storyline and the characters are by comparison conventional. For this movie the funny man has not only gone straight but gives a performance of genuine pathos. One can only speculate how much of Steve Martin is in the Ray Porter character!

In ‘Shopgirl’ the wild and crazy guy has become wistful and circumspect!

26 January, 2006