I say a pretty woman in a love triangle bouncing back and forth between a rich old fart and a young man; you guess the plot. The young woman initially gives a try to the greasy waste bag but seeing no future with him switches to the sugar daddy who buys her expensive gifts and pays up her student loan. She seems to be in love with him, however he seeks nothing but sex with her. As much as it sounds plausible, I have a problem with this plot. First of all, S. Martin character doesn't look like a man over fifties but rather over mid sixties. With his thinning white hair and sagging belly, he finds a young pretty girl who is genuinely in love with him (at least in the movie) and still sleeps around. He is also honest enough to disclose his infidelity and screw up the relation. Listen grandpa: you can be filthy rich as to travel in your private jet and buy the Vogue cover girls but you can't still find a real woman who'd love you for who you are. Then, what else are you looking for and jerk around with other women? At your old age, just stick to her until the day you fade away. Apparently, S. Martin thinks too highly of himself and creates this silly old character. Finally, are these two the only two options in her life? Why does she go back to the loser ? You may argue, he seems to do better with suits and a car towards the end of the movie but he still looks like a type who'd be pissing in his kitchen sink for the sake of convenience. Worst, there seems no chemistry or bonding between C. Danes and the young grease bag. OK, people do much more stupid things in their lives than what I described here but some things don't seem to add to me with the way things happen in the movie.

Shopgirl is pure patient pleasantry politely presented powerfully picture perfect persisting upon no pressing plot or pace or purpose or prudence as I partly praise it per previously particularized whereupon I primarily praise the pruriently prettily pleasing princess Claire Danes. I love you, Claaaaaaiiiiiirrrrre! I love alliteration but nothing like the way I love Claire Danes and I'll prove it. I resist the urge to tell you Claire's naked butt scene in this is phenomenally poetically primal, I'll just say I love it. Writing is a beautiful thing, and Steve Martin's a beautiful writer, but Claire's the most beautiful, underrated actress ever. Shopgirl is underrated too. I love Claire, she brings out the best in me, but I don't want to talk about me anymore, I want to talk about her. Claire's got a perfect butt and a gorgeous face, but most of all, the most beautiful heart.

'Shopgirl' is a pretty solid romantic dramedy. The characters are all lost in their own selfish, narrow minded worlds, severely shrinking the world around them, but in a way that makes the story more succinct if not slightly dull.Claire Danes plays Mirabelle, a lonely and bored shop girl whose life suddenly becomes 'worth living' as it were, when she is pursued by and older and wealthy gentleman (Steve Martin.) But when she grows more attached to the aging playboy than he is to her romantic complications ensue.The story sometimes feels long and outdated but the performances by each and every actor help to keep the viewer afloat. Schwartzman does a fine job as the young slacker vying for her heart. Danes particularly shines through, playing the luminous and desirable shop-girl and the slightly depressed artist all in one.Although the movie suffers at times from predictable plot and seems to be trying too hard to make a thorough impression with its overall sense of profundity and unnecessary narration, it still merits value. It holds your attention (although barely at times) so that you'll wish to see it to the end just to know what happens.'Shopgirl' is a soft and sweet romance story about how to love yourself, life and anyone else who may come along. 6.5/10

"A woman needs to be held, even, and science has shown this, if its by someone she doesn't care about. Protective hormones are released, and the amount of hormones released depends on the degree to which she is held. The best is the complete surround; he wraps her in both arms, whispers how beautiful she is. When this happens, she feel completely, wonderfully like a woman." - Radio ("Shopgirl")Fans of "Vertigo" and Todd Haynes' "Far From Heaven" should enjoy "Shopgirl", directed by an otherwise undistinguished Anand Tucker. With its retro clothing, careful location work, designer visuals, tapestry of voluptuous music and big, melodramatic brush-strokes, the film plays like a poor-man's Hitchcock, but such an aesthetic is rare in cinema, so we savour it here.The plot? Claire Danes plays the miserable Mirabelle, a young woman from Vermont who works behind a Neiman Marcus glove counter in Beverly Hills. The film is based on a novella by actor/comedian Steve Martin. Both watch as Mirabelle struggles with loneliness in a sprawling, inhospitable LA, a city which seems to chew up and spit out fragile souls. Rescuing her from asphyxiation are two men, one a wealthy character played by Martin himself, another a young guy played by Jason Schwartzman. Both seem to love Mirabelle. The film traces Mirabelle's infatuation with the wealthy Martin, a man who treats her like a princess, and disgust with Jason, who treats her as a sex object. By the film's end, these relationships are somewhat reversed. Mirabelle learns that Martin isn't interested in a real relationship with her, is using her, and Jason learns to stop being a bum and treat people with respect. The film's tale is old-news, some of its "quirky moments" grate and several of its subplots don't work at all. Where it does succeed is in its mood and style. Mirabelle's life is given a noirish, almost existential quality, like a sex drenched Hopper or Vetrianno painting, her tiny life constantly juxtaposed to distant shots of vast cities, highways and zillions of little granular people. Martin rescues her from this anonymity, these feelings of low self-worth, and is actually, unconventionally for such films, not portrayed as a bad guy. Selfish yes, but he gets her out of a rut and seems to genuinely care for her. Before it falls apart, we're also treated to a lovely colour palette – lots of blacks and greens, epitomising Mirabelle's noxious, toxic mind space – some interesting architecture (inhospitable urban LA, Duilio Damilano modernism, high street glitz/royalty, middle-class, Tuscan-style/Art-Deco apartment blocks) and shots which fawn over Danes' luscious womanness, watching as she shaves her legs, brushes her hair, fixes her clothes etc. The film tries to capture an old-school type of femininity; lots of curves, retro clothes and mannered poses."Shopgirl" was released one year after Sophia Coppola's "Lost in Translation". Both films cover similar ground, but with interesting differences. Coppola's film was written and directed by a young woman, "Shopgirl" by two elderly men. Coppola's was about a lonely young woman in an alienating city who falls in love with an old man, played by a comedian, "Shopgirl" does the same. Interestingly, the couple have sex in "Shopgirl", get close and break up, whilst never go this far in Coppola's film. Both tap into sleazy daddy-complexes, Coppola longing for older, protective guys, Martin drooling over young ladies but mature enough to recognise the seedier side of his tale. You might say "Shopgirl" is explicitly - even though it ultimately pardons its two men - about why the relationship in "Translation" seems attractive, but may be dangerous. And what's the Schwartzman character here, but the absent-minded boyfriend of the heroine in Coppola's film.8/10 - Stylish, moody tale, eventually falls apart due to unnecessary quirkiness. Worth one viewing. See Todd Haynes' "Safe".