Isla elevates 'Confessions'

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC
(DVD Review)

***

Starring Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cusack, John Goodman, John Lithgow, Kristin Scott Thomas, Leslie Bibb, Fred Armisen, Julie Hagerty and Krysten Ritter.
Directed by P.J. Hogan.

Here's a movie that shows the star power of Isla Fisher, the girl who broke onto the scene as the slightly crazy object fo Vince Vaughn's affections in Wedding Crashers. Fisher plays a selfish spend-freak who one day finds herself with all of her credit cards maxed out. Through a couple contrived incidents, she winds up at a financial magazine.

Now a charmless actress could have made this premise, and therefore most of the movie, insufferable. But we bounce along with it, pleasantly buoyed by Fisher's energy. And the cast is pretty deep. It's weird to see Joan Cusack kinda wasted as "the mother" but Joan's hit that magical age in Hollywood where only the Meryl Streeps get good roles. I'd wager in another year or two, we'll see Joan on a TV series.

The movie may or may not have been affected by its release - a movie that seems to be about the joys of excessive consumerism right as the economy's plummeting. But actually she hits the maxed-out skids fairly early, and the movie preaches against spending more than you have. Maybe Congress should watch this movie...