Shopgirl...APPROVED!

So, I finally saw "Shopgirl" starring Steve Martin, Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman last week and *sigh* it managed to worm its way into "Lisa's Must-Have DVD" List.

Let's get my favorite lines out of the way, both uttered by one Jason Schwartzman.

"So, can I kiss you or what?"

"Ouch. It feels like someone is punching my balls."

As if he hadn't endeared himself enough to me the first time I saw him in his nerdy blazer with a crest upon the breast, Jason Schwartzman managed to combine his adorably earnest portrayal of Max Fischer with his performance as the arrogant young director in CQ, in Jeremy Kraft, whose obnoxiousness somehow manages to both charm and repel in "Shopgirl."

Claire Danes is awesome. Running the risk of playing the Sylvia-Plathesque protagonist/hapless victim, she manages to dodge this bullet by giving Mirabel a personality and hopefulness, which is a quality I often find lacking in the heroines of indie-minded films (*see "The Secretary"), rendering the character beyond sympathy in my book.

Steve Martin as the older, smoother and emotionally detached beau was both seductive and abhorrent as he proceeded to go through the motions of winning Mirabel's heart, realizing that he would inevitably break it.

Do yourself a favor and watch this. You have no excuse, cause I'm totally gonna buy it and then you can just call me and borrow it.

Also, L.A. is so pretty in this movie, it makes me want to buy sepia-toned sunglasses, so I can see it the same way every day.