Pictured Peter Berlin in a self-portrait. The film is at the Chicago International Film Festival, opening this week.In Her Shoes and Reeling 2005: Gay and Lesbian Film Fest Lineup Announced
Back off Bette, take a hike Meg, see you some other time JLo—Chick Flick Central High has a new prom queen and the vehicle of her anointment is In Her Shoes. Though Beaches, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and The Wedding Planner are still contenders, Curtis Hanson's new film has got legs as spectacular as its willowy star, Cameron Diaz, and should have a shelf life to rival its cinematic sisters. No self-respecting fan of the chick flick ( read: middle-aged gay men and single, 'still lookin'' women ) will want to wait to revel in the blissful … femaleness and dress-up fantasies offered by In Her Shoes. It's the cinematic equivalent of a REALLY good shopping day that culminates in finding a pair of Manolo Blahniks on sale.
Along with Diaz, the film ( based on the bestselling chick-lit novel ) stars Toni Collette in the plain Jane, dumpy, 'fat' best friend/sister role and the dowager empress of these movies Shirley MacLaine as their grandmother. It's basically the story of a good, nose-to-the-grindstone lawyer, Rose ( Collette ) , Maggie, her bad, party-lovin' sister ( Diaz ) , who can't hold a job and how the two are brought together by MacLaine as Ella, the grandmother both girls thought long dead.
At the movie's outset the sisters are tied together because 'blood is thicker than water' but workhorse Rose is tired of Maggie's repeated exploits. Then Maggie, who is once again without a job, crashing at Rose's place and wearing pairs of her fabulous designer shoes without asking, pulls a stunt that breaks the camel's back and Rose kicks her out. But Maggie's found out about MacLaine and heads down to Florida to see her. Rose, not knowing about the grandmother, has no idea where she's gone and claims not to care.
We know better, of course, and so late in the movie when she finally says with a catch in her throat, 'Without her I don't make sense' we feel vindicated. By the fade out Maggie will have finally grown up and Rose will have loosened up ( i.e. gotten rid of her glasses and dropped 25 pounds ) but we knew that from the first five minutes—this being a good old-fashioned femme film, after all. Just as we know that the shoes are a handy metaphorical device to link the two together.
The movie's helped enormously by the presence of Rose's persistent suitor Simon ( Mark Feuerstein ) . Aside from loosening up Rose, he provides the female ( and gay male ) audience members the perfect fantasy man. Simon is perhaps the most patient, sweet, loving, kind, sensitive man a woman/gay man could want. Yet he's also decidedly masculine ( loves sports ) , dresses well, and is a dreamboat.
Director Curtis Hanson has a very interesting resume that includes L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys, and 8 Mile with Eminem. His films have consistently provided audiences new sides of the personalities of his leading actors and he provides that same opportunity for Diaz here. We know from many of her character choices that she's a lot more than a great set of legs and here she reveals new dimensions to the plight of the dumb blonde—no small feat.
Diaz is beautifully supported by MacLaine ( no surprise there ) and Collette, who once again is saddled with the fat girl role. Only in the movies would Toni Collette be considered a fat girl, but then again who would believe that she and Diaz are real-life sisters? Or that Midler and Hershey in Beaches would be real-life, long-life friends? That Meg Ryan would want to end up with the schlumpy Billy Crystal in When Harry Met Sally or that Mary Louise Parker and Mary Stuart Masterson were just 'best friends' and nothing more in Fried Green Tomatoes? I'd better stop or I'll single handedly destroy my ability to suspend belief and enjoyment of all chick flicks—and that would be a terrible thing for a gay man to have happen.
