Cheap In Her Shoes (DVD) (Curtis Hanson) Price

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Customer Reviews of In Her Shoes

Read the book, skip the movie.
I try to be open minded when it comes to movies created from rather good books. After all, they only have 2 hours to tell you a story that took one many hours to read. Many times the story in the movie may be different or shortened but it holds up on it's own. <
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>This time it didn't. <
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>My husband watched this movie with me. I read the book several months ago, he never has and probably never will. The movie assumes you have read the book. If you haven't, you will miss out on a lot that the movie tries but fails to get across. For instance, there are several slow scenes during the movie where they are trying to get the feelings that are so easily written in the book across - but fail. My husband would ask me, "What am I supposed to be understanding here?" and I would tell him what I knew from the book. Also, a huge section where Maggie finds herself is missing. They do credible substitutions, considering, but in the end, we never felt we ever got a "story" out of it. <
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>As for the movie itself, without any reference to the book. I found the characters dull and difficult to empathize with, the story lacking, and the closeups (constant closeups) painful. I give it 2 stars. <
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>Skip the movie. Read the book. <
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I read the book and then saw the movie - I"d recommend both
I'd truly enjoyed both experiences, reading the book as well as getting a chance to see the movie. It doesn't really matter which you do first so if you've happened to see the movie, you'll still enjoy reading the book - or vice versa (read the book, see the movie). I admit I lead toward reading the book first. <
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>The basic story seems simple but is richly layered, showing the complexities of sisters trying to connect when their personalities are so different. It also reveeals how family secrets can cause damage for years (I won't divulge the particular family secret - it is a whopper). I WILL reveal this much - the tragic secret not only damages the entire family (father, daughters, sisters and stepmother) but, even worse,divides the sisters, motivating one (played by Toni Collette) to become an obsessively controlled person as well as a caretaker type. She doesn't feel attractive but she DOES feel competent. <
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> In contrast, her sister (Cameron Diaz) is absolutely gorgeous but thinks very little of herself, willing to try and coast by on her good looks, whatever jobs come her way and the kindness of men who are all too willing to pay her bar tabs for a chance of bedding her. She relys on her sister to save her when she drinks too much, to rescue her from herself. The strain is taking its toll on the already tense relationship between the two. <
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> I think Camerson Diaz is stunning in her role as the perpetual "screw up", putting on a good face while feeling like an idiot underneath. Instead of being a goofy sexpot, this time she allows some genuine vulnerability and pain to come through and she pulls it off. She engages the viewer and elicits sympathy (something that isn't always so easy to do for someone who seems so genetically blessed). In short, Diaz comes across as a very real, flawed person who eventually (but slowly, tenuously) gains hope that she can do better. <
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>While I found the film to be worth at least one viewing, it had some flaws. It dragged at certain points and even though it wasn't a long film, somehow it seemed to go forever. Still, I was eager to see how the sisters worked through their anger and pain to try and reconnect. Along the way, they encounter a grandmother they'd never known and who is a major factor in resolving their differences. <
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> The girl's grandmother is played by Shirley MacClaine, a woman whose personality is so forceful, so simply and completely PRESENT, that it is hard to pay attention to anyone else when she is on screen. At times, her role of eccentric older woman was a bit much for me, almost stereotypical, but she seems to approach every role with complete conviction so I can easily forgive any apparent excesses. Besides, she isn't afraid to be unpleasant on screen. She is willing to show that getting older isn't this wonderful experience, that there are good days and bad along the way. I imagine there might have been some pressure to soft pedal that approach. I'm glad she didn't. <
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> This movie is also about stepping outside one's usual routine, of taking chances and moving towards a middle ground, one where both sisters become (a bit) more like each other. Finding peace with one another isn't easy because one sister betrays the other early on in a particularly painful way. But find peace they do and I was left with the reminder that maintaining family bonds is worth quite a bit, including some assaults to pride and dignity. No one else shares quite the same memories and history as one's sister. <
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> Toni Collette, an actress I really enjoy watching on screen, just didn't seem to hit her stride in this film, while Cameron Diaz went far beyond my expectations.