Kick back and put your feet up with In Her Shoes, a movie about everything girly: Sisters, men and shoes.
This chick flick is as good as it looks. Funny, touching and easy to digest, In Her Shoes is very watchable and doesn’t require too much thinking or lay its soppiness on too thick.
The story follows two close but very different sisters. Maggie (Cameron Diaz, Charlie’s Angels) is a party girl who uses her looks to boost her self-confidence. Rose (Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense) is a successful attorney whose romantic life seems to be non-existent. Early on in the film the two have a falling out. Unable to deal with the issues between them, Maggie goes in search of her long lost maternal grandmother (Shirley McLaine, Bewitched). Meanwhile Rose makes drastic changes in her life, taking a break from her corporate legal position and discovering what matters to her in life. The movie’s focus is on Maggie and Rose’s struggle to find a way to truly appreciate and understand each other’s views and ideals, and their final understanding that, as sisters, they rely on each other no matter what their disagreements.
This is a great cast: Collette is her usual polished best, Diaz is convincing as the messy no-hoper and Mark Feuerstein (What Women Want) is puppy dog gorgeous as Rose’s love interest. But it is the fabulous Shirley McLaine who steals the show as the sisters’ long lost grandmother, Ella. Some of the scenes in the residential community for active seniors, where Ella lives, are laugh-out-louders and McLaine’s dry and witty humor is executed with perfect timing.
But true to its genre, In Her Shoes is a bit cheesy at times. There’s a weird scene where Rose runs to the top of the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in a poor imitation of Rocky Balboa while the poetry and tear-jerking is a bit drawn-out at the end. Also the characters are so OTT that they’re a little unbelievable: For instance, Maggie is unreliable, a freeloader, unable to hold down a job, a thief, very calculating and dyslexic.
On the upside, if you love shoes, there are (as the title indicates) shoes galore in this film to drool over. Watch out for Rose’s shoe closet: It is to die for.
Portraying the importance of sisterhood and relationships, In Her Shoes is definitely a film to bring your girlfriends to, not your man. If you like a mix of clever comedy with a few sentimental bits and a good dose of oestrogen, this one is worth trying on for size.
