Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)

25% of critics liked it
(159 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(279,865 ratings)

A Manhattan shopaholic (Isla Fisher) whose buying sprees have buried her in immense debt lands a columnist gig dishing out financial advice in this Touchstone comedy based on Sophie Kinsella's series of books. P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) directs, with producing duties being handled by… More A Manhattan shopaholic (Isla Fisher) whose buying sprees have buried her in immense debt lands a columnist gig dishing out financial advice in this Touchstone comedy based on Sophie Kinsella's series of books. P.J. Hogan (My Best Friend's Wedding) directs, with producing duties being handled by Jerry Bruckheimer. Rebecca Bloomwood (Fisher) can't seem to break her habit for making impulsive purchases, and while she's always decked out in the latest styles, her credit card bills are as thick as a telephone book. If Rebecca could somehow manage to land her dream job at a high-profile fashion magazine, perhaps she could transform what is now a simple addiction into something that could really benefit her professionally. When Rebecca becomes an advice columnist at a financial magazine published by the same company as her favorite fashion magazine, her fresh approach strikes a chord with readers and she quickly becomes the toast of the town. Meanwhile, her bank account is still bone dry, wreaking havoc on her love life and placing her career in jeopardy. As Rebecca teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, she gradually begins to reassess her priorities in life. Joan Cusack, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, and Krysten Ritter co-star in the Touchstone Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: P.J. Hogan
Written By: Tim Firth, Tracey Jackson
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Feb 13, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Jun 23, 2009
Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Critic Reviews

Ben Lyons, At the Movies
Here [Fisher] is giving it everything she's got and it's just not enough.
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies
This is a movie that is warning us against the dangers of being slaves to labels while at the same time celebrating those same designer brands.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Isla Fisher is such a bundle of comic energy that watching her spin her wheels in the aggressively unfunny Confessions of a Shopaholic counts as cruel and unusual punishment -- for her as well as for us.
Christopher Orr, New Republic
[T]his adaptation is really just about buying the 'brand,' and--like the retailers in the film--selling America something it already had.
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
The production renders totally irrelevant all hopes for a well-made movie. It's one of those ragged, pandemonious studio comedies that hammers at plot points in every contrived scene.
Claudia Puig, USA Today
Not only is it an unfunny movie shrilly told, it probably is the most ill-timed and appallingly insulting movie in recent memory.
Sarah Sluis, Film Journal International
Cinematic impulse buy that sparkles through its 100 minutes.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
A disappointing comedy, out of synch with the zeitgeist
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
an exceedingly safe movie, which can serve as entertainment for the first date crowd or the couple who has been happily married for years
Sam Bathe, Fan The Fire
If you are willing to turn your brain off, Fisher makes the film very watchable, but it's core message over materialism and financial stupidity are confused and the film lacks just that few more laughs to tip it above mediocrity.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
This is a film that couldn't buy a positive female character if there was a barrel full on clearance at Bloomies.
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
Charm can go a long way in making a film. Or, in the case of Confessions of a Shopaholic, the charm of Isla Fisher makes the film bearable.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
There's a modest collection of extras on the disc, including a set of deleted scenes, an outtakes reel and a music video.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Even without the bad timing %u2013 a paean to debt and excess released a few months after the world's biggest financial meltdown since the 1920s %u2013 it still would not have worked.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Hollywood likes nothing more than having its cake and eating it too, which explains the confusions of P.J. Hogan's Confessions of a Shopaholic. [Blu-ray]
Prairie Miller, NewsBlaze
Isla gets bagged, in this big screen bid to have your designer duds and wear them too. While predatory airhead female mall stalkers with too much lipstick pretend finger wagging, as they fabulously flaunt shameless product placement pricey designer labels
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
Doesn't operate on a level of logic, being the fantasy that it is, but the enthusiasm of its star and the color dynamics of its lush parade of fashion makes it a solid must see for the teenage girl crowd.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a typically dumbed-down mainstream romantic comedy...
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
Isla Fisher gives it all she's got, and Hugh Dancy does his best, but the parts never come together to make Confessions of a Shopaholic a zinger of a romantic comedy.
Jolene Mendez, Entertainment Spectrum
See why everyone loves Isla Fisher

Read all 24 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Unknown H

Nothing of great merit but still an enjoyable feel good comedy that comes at being a shopaholic from a different angle. Entertaining, predictable and attempts to be heartfelt, this film follows the same scripture as almost every other young romantic comedy. Peppered with some big… More
Nothing of great merit but still an enjoyable feel good comedy that comes at being a shopaholic from a different angle. Entertaining, predictable and attempts to be heartfelt, this film follows the same scripture as almost every other young romantic comedy. Peppered with some big names with acting above the usual standards of the genre, I must say this is definitely not the worst of its type I have seen but still would have to go just a little bit further to be considered anything better than good. Some AMAZING shoes in it though!
Alexander D

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC was like a chick flick gone terrible. I can admit that I do enjoy some chick flicks (such as SWEET HOME ALABAMA and JUST GO WITH IT), but this was one of those, "OMG! It's SHOPPING day! We gotta get down and PARTY girls! Let's go to the… More
CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC was like a chick flick gone terrible. I can admit that I do enjoy some chick flicks (such as SWEET HOME ALABAMA and JUST GO WITH IT), but this was one of those, "OMG! It's SHOPPING day! We gotta get down and PARTY girls! Let's go to the MALL!"-type of movies. Is that really your type of movie? Even if you are a "shopaholic" (quote-unquote) yourself, it just appears stupid to waste a whole hour and forty-four minutes of your life watching a stupid chick show that she CLEARLY doesn't know how to handle her money, along with keeping away from her ex-boyfriend ("'cause OMG! He's such a stalkerrrrr").
Bethany M

Really bad. Was expecting much better than this. It has it's moments but other than that, not really that good and the main actor isn't all that attractive and his acting is terrible.
Dean !

An ok comedy film, probably enjoyed more by girls with a passion for shopping. It has some funny moments but it was far from memorable to be honest.
Cynthia S

I just loved this movie. Isla is just so adorable, and funny. It's alot of fun watching her try really, really hard to not spend money. What a really fun movie!
MisterYoda ?

1 star
Thomas J

It is all you can expect from a movie like this. Cute and mildly entertaining.
Sanjaya &

A good and entertaining movie...!! Sophie Kinsella really made a great book about a shopaholic with her obsession about shopping and finding fortune in her life... Maybe this movie wasn't as good as 'Sex & The City' or 'The Devil Wears Prada', but I… More
A good and entertaining movie...!! Sophie Kinsella really made a great book about a shopaholic with her obsession about shopping and finding fortune in her life... Maybe this movie wasn't as good as 'Sex & The City' or 'The Devil Wears Prada', but I thought this movie was better to be checked... Isla Fisher made a great cast as Rebecca Bloomwood, while the love interest who played by Hugh Dancy wasn't a bad one... The other cast did a good job too, as it was a pretty good collaboration between the young actors and the senior actors... The story itself was good, it was easily to follow and have a really complex problem that told really well... Overall, I was enjoying watching this movie...
Alexis N

This movie is kind of a fake it till you make it and put it all on plastic. I loved every darling, cute, clever, funny, romantic part of it.
Richard C

not as bad as i thought but not a good movie. C
Cassie H

I loved this movie. Isla Fisher was just adorable and the story was very cute. I'm a sucker for these kind of movies lol!!! :) This is a really good movie lol! :) I love this :)
Dead A

"I was once stalked by a dog" I wouldn't say this was lame like the other reviewers. This has some funny moments. But Isla Fisher acting was pretty over. I never knew shopaholic people were like this. This is sort of a disease if you ask me.
Jennifer D

I'll give it this much. It was cute. Hugh Dancy is quite yummy to look at and Isla Fisher pulls off comedy very well. It's like Legally Blonde meets The Devil Wears Prada. I had some laughs and a good pick for 'wanting something brainless'. I wasn't… More
I'll give it this much. It was cute. Hugh Dancy is quite yummy to look at and Isla Fisher pulls off comedy very well. It's like Legally Blonde meets The Devil Wears Prada. I had some laughs and a good pick for 'wanting something brainless'. I wasn't disappointed. Probably will never need to watch it again.
Dean M

Good chick flick with Isla Fisher's first title role in this film. She is charming, funny, adorably goofy yet undeniably attractive. You can't help but notice her uncanny resemblance to Enchanted's Amy Adams, which is not a bad thing at all, yet she… More
Good chick flick with Isla Fisher's first title role in this film. She is charming, funny, adorably goofy yet undeniably attractive. You can't help but notice her uncanny resemblance to Enchanted's Amy Adams, which is not a bad thing at all, yet she still maintains the same unique kookiness we all enjoyed in her role as Vince Vaughn's equal in The Wedding Crashers. The actors were all terrific. The "chemistry" was there. The storyline was interesting (not deep, somewhat predictable, but still pleasant and interesting).
jay n

Ignore the foolish story and enjoy the cast of talented performers who all should be appearing in better films than this.
Leigh R

Isla was adorable as always. Movie was cute, but not worth watching again.
James A

My wife makes me watch these things that are technically movies.
Roy G

Fisher is a likeable star with a knack for slapstick.
Morgan S

The comstumes for Isla Fisher in this movie were REDICULUS!! THEY WERENT EVEN FASIONABLE!!
Lewis C

Confessions of a Shopaholic is decent, but it sticks to the standards of its genre to the point that it hurts the movie, overall. I think Isla Fisher is so charismatic that I would basically watch her in anything, but she doesn't really have anything to do in Confessions except… More
Confessions of a Shopaholic is decent, but it sticks to the standards of its genre to the point that it hurts the movie, overall. I think Isla Fisher is so charismatic that I would basically watch her in anything, but she doesn't really have anything to do in Confessions except go through the motions with her trademark acting style. I've watched much worse movies with my girlfriend, but I was hoping that Confessions could have been something in the vein of The Devil Wears Prada. Something that I could enjoy, instead of not hate. At least the movie has a great message/lesson for its viewers.