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Rating:  - Shoes never make you look fat
This is a great movie to watch when you are home alone or angry at your boyfriend. Its a great story about two sisters that are complete opposites and the challenges they face in life. Cameron Diaz is the hot ditzy sister and the brunette is the smart professional with a slight shoe fetish...
Rating: - These shoes fit just fine...
It may seem on the outset to be nothing more than another chick-flick, but `In Her Shoes' is not only smart and entertaining but it's complex in many ways. It tells us the story of two very different sisters, Maggie and Rose, who love one another deeply despite the fact that they rarely get along. Rose is the successful `plain looking' one who can never seem to find the right man and Maggie is the unstable `pretty' one who bounces from one man to the next. After an explosive argument where each party says things they really don't mean the two girls separate, disbanding their relationship.
The beauty of `In Her Shoes' is that it delicately and affectionately relates each girls side of the story. While Rose is successful in her own way she wishes she had half of the gusto and spunk her sister Maggie possessed, and while Maggie may have a way with people, she lacks self confidence in her own abilities. She gives herself away because she doesn't realize she deserves more than that. Rose thinks that she is ugly, Maggie thinks that she is stupid; both girls pick themselves apart yet find a way to blame their own insecurities on their sister.
As the film progresses; Maggie moving in with their estranged Grandmother Ella, Rose actually finding a man who loves her for who she is; it continues to grab us and connect to us. It never falls apart or dives into overly sympathetic or in other words `pathetic' territory. Sure, it grabs at your heartstrings and may even bring a tear or two to your eyes but its all legitimate emotions.
The acting is particularly splendid here as well. Toni Collette is always a delight (how is it again that she has but ONE Oscar nomination) and here she is flawlessly on point. She really helps the audience to understand Rose. Shirley MacLaine proves yet again that her talent is never-ending. As Ella she is moving and affectionate and truly outstanding. To me though, this movie belongs to Cameron Diaz. I'm really dying to see this girl fully embraced by the awards circuit. I don't understand how she has gone this long without a single Oscar nomination. As Maggie she really fleshes out this girl's strengths and weaknesses. She makes her three dimensional, relatable and sympathetic. The scene where she auditions for MTV alone made me cry; it's so real and raw and believable.
In the end `In Her Shoes' is well worth the time. It's an elevated chick-flick with heart and soul; a film that really understands what it's aiming for and truly delivers in the end. It's not what I was expecting and I'm sure you'll get more than you bargained for as well. Director Curtis Hanson has a nice way of approaching his projects, and while `In Her Shoes' is a far cry from Hanson's Oscar winning `L.A. Confidential' it has a level of maturity we've come to expect from a man who continues to hand us cinematic gems.
Rating:  - Very disappointing
I liked Jennifer Weiner's book and even followed her columns about standing on the set watching this movie get made. My daughter and I then went to see this movie and we were both disappointed. The first problem is the casting - it is just impossible to see Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette as sisters. Collette never had a smile on her face and it was impossible to believe that she was an intelligent lawyer. Diaz's acting ranges from a to b (as Dorothy Parker once said about Katherine Hepburn). Shirley MacLaine was also woefully miscast as the grandmother; she barely phoned in her performance and never took on the role. This viewer was always conscious of watching Shirley MacLaine. There was also a problem with Curtis Hanson as the director; the movie just did not have the light touch of a romantic comedy and it dragged. On the other hand, Mark Feuerstein was one bright spot, even if there was no chemistry on screen between him and Toni Collette.
I'd suggest saving your money.
Rating:  - *Wonderful Movie*
A very good movie.A must see for anyone who has a sister.I happen to have three.It is a movie that is very realistic and makes you feel good.A movie to watch more than once.
Rating: - A Most "Human" Film
This is one of those films that can set off a four hour discussion...
There are no villians in this beautifully strurctured comdey/drama..Just human beings, desiring love, suffering from low self esteem and yet having the courage to keep living and seeking answers....We need more such films that are so thought provoking....
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