‘Shopgirl’ a sweet charmer

shop girlWho would have ever imagined that “wild and crazy guy” from the 1970s would evolve into a thoughtful dramatist and serious actor more than 25 years later? Well, it’s happened with “Shopgirl” (rated R), and Steve Martin has created a charming romantic drama with little sprinkles of comedy.

Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is the title character, a struggling artist who supports herself with a day job selling gloves at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. In an amusing encounter at the laundromat, she meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), another would-be artist whose big complaint is that sound amplifiers are underappreciated. One day at work, Mirabelle meets Ray Porter (Martin), a charming and very wealthy logician (described as a “logical magician”) who is smitten with her. The relationships Mirabelle forms with each of the two men comprise the bulk of the film.

Besides their obvious economic circumstances, these two guys couldn’t be more different. Jeremy is expressive, sensitive and open. When he’s away from Mirabelle, he tries to connect with her emotionally. Conversely, even when Ray is with Mirabelle, he is unable to communicate his feelings. When he does something to damage their romance, he apologizes by handing her a letter. What these relationships share is that only one person is giving, making them both very unbalanced.

The overriding themes are longing and desire and trying to figure out what you are truly supposed to get out of life. All the characters need something they can’t quite reach. While Jeremy at first appears to be lacking vision, he is the clearest thinker in the bunch. He knows what he wants personally and professionally and makes the best attempt to pursue his dreams. And Schwartzman plays him well, at first with a goofy charm, gradually evolving into someone who will find the success he deserves.

Danes brings a graceful reality to all the varying emotions that conflict Mirabelle’s life. Her performance allows us to sympathize with Mirabelle’s turmoil.

Martin may have had an easy job since he wrote the original story and adapted it into a screenplay, but that shouldn’t diminish the praise his acting deserves or the story he’s created. Ray is a complex character who is intellectually honest but emotionally clueless. He wants to love but doesn’t know how to make it real.

The satisfying package is completed with good music and cinematography.

REEL FACTOID

In “Shopgirl,” when Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman) and Luther (Mark Kozelek) are shopping at Best Buy, the very first shot has a visual in-joke. In the foreground, somewhat out of focus, are row after row of DVD sets for “My So-Called Life” (1994), in which Clare Danes appeared and “Saturday Night Live” (1975) which gave Steve Martin his breakthrough role.

* PHILLIP HAIN is a Glendale resident who worked in retail clothing many years ago. No customer ever asked him out.

20051105ialcoakf(LA)Phillip Hain20051105ipga0ukn(LA)Steve Martin and Claire Danes get acquainted in “Shopgirl.”