In Her Shoes (2005)
Grade:A-
I feel it necessary to begin my review of Curtis Hanson’s new film, In Her Shoes, by specifying that I am not a middle-aged woman. Therefore, I am in no way part of the target audience of this film.
In Her Shoes tells the story of two sisters, Maggie (Cameron Diaz) and Rose (Toni Collette), and their tumultuous relationship caused by the inherent differences in their behavior: one’s a successful lawyer, the other engages in random sex with men in order to get by without a job. I’ll let you guess which sister Cameron Diaz plays (although, wouldn’t the film have been even more fascinating if Cameron Diaz played the responsible one and Toni Collette was the tramp?).
The catalyst for change in these sisters’ lives comes when Maggie discovers they have a long-lost grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). Maggie, through reasons I won’t divulge here, finds it necessary to go visit their grandmother, and eventually Rose comes for a visit as well. All three of them learn Valuable Life Lessons.
Fine. So the plot got a tad formulaic at times and I could see where it was headed. But I forgave all of it. The acting here really elevates this film above the weaker parts of the material, which wasn’t that bad to begin with. Every one of these women has distinct character arcs and goes through changes that are realistic; the script never feels contrived.
Even with a strong script, this film could have fallen apart in the hands of lesser actors. Toni Collette is amazing here, which is to be expected; she’s never given a bad performance. Shirley MacLaine is a reliable actress, and she is fantastic here as well, giving a subdued performance and bringing much of the emotional gravity to the story.
Some have said that Cameron Diaz is out of her league here, but I think she is wonderful as well. Many of her scenes are with MacLaine, and there’s no sense that MacLaine is the dominant presence. It’s not as though Diaz hasn’t given good performances before, either; she was Oscar-worthy in Vanilla Sky.
The genre of a “chick-flick” is difficult to define, and, in this case, an inherently unfair classification. When I think “chick-flick,” I think of something like Maid in Manhattan where there is a female protagonist who Overcomes Obstacles and Gets the Guy. To write this film off simply because it is adapted from Jennifer Weiner’s book of the same name, a chick-lit entry, is unfair to this film. I haven’t read the book, but if it has as much depth as this film does, it would be unfair to write the book off as well.
To say this film will only appeal to middle-aged women is unfair as well. Sure, that is probably the target audience of this film, but it is not as if this film is devoid of anything that men will find intriguing. There are many good laughs, there are some insightful comments about relationships, and, of course, there’s Cameron Diaz.
More than anything else, though, this is a film where I was completely involved in each of the characters. Regardless of whether or not this movie falls into the “chick-flick” genre or whether or not it was based on a book of the “chick-lit” genre, if a film can keep me involved for two hours, it gets my recommendation.
Bottom Line:
In Her Shoes is a chick-flick in the best sense of the word: a film of surprising depth and heart that never settles for clichés.
© 2004-2009 Ben Waldorf. Posted October 22, 2005. IMDB