Confessions of a Shopaholic (Blu-ray)

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Her first column, written under the moniker "The Girl in the Green Scarf" (we're supposed to ignore the sexist language) becomes an international sensation, and that fame makes it hard for her to hide from her debt-ridden past. I'm not spoiling anything. The way this is structured, you know there'll be a moment of truth. Along the way, you hope that funny situations, clever lines, and interesting character interaction will put some meat on these fashion bones, but "Confessions of a Shopaholic" just doesn't rank with the heavyweights of romantic comedy, and for this there's enough blame to go around. There wasn't much chemistry between the romantic leads, and John Goodman and Joan Cusack seemed bizarre choices to play Rebecca's parents, with neither of the actors able to do much with their roles. And Alette (Kristin Scott Thomas) isn't nearly as fearsome as the top fashion dog in "The Devil Wears Prada" or "Ugly Betty." Even John Lithgow as a suit seems like he's going through the motions, and it's because of the lines and scenes, not his acting ability. Look for Lynn Redgrave to liven things up as a cheery drunk at a dance, and get ready to laugh your tokus off when the stars try a Latin dance and Rebecca gets a little slap-happy with her Spanish fan. But there aren't enough moments like that to make this more of a delight than a drudgery.

Video:
I didn't see any artifacts or excessive processing in the AVC/MPEG-4 transfer, which offers sharp detail, bright colors (sometimes a little too bright), and black levels that are a little wanting in spots. The level of 3-dimensionality is average for a Blu-ray, and that's pretty much how I'd describe the overall picture quality. "Confessions of a Shopaholic" is presented in 2.40:1 aspect ratio.

Audio:
So much of the English DTS-HD 5.1 (48kHz/24-bit) featured soundtrack is center-speaker heavy that when the rear effects speakers do kick in, they draw attention to themselves. Ambient noise isn't exactly believable, though that's probably in the sound mix rather than the transfer. Dialogue is crisp and clear, but this isn't a dynamic audio track. Neither, of course, are the French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 options. Subtitles are in English SDH, French, and Spanish. As with the visuals (and the film itself), it's a pretty average presentation.

Extras:
Aside from a Digital Copy, there aren't a whole lot of extras, and when that happens you have to wonder if no one wanted to talk about it, if they knew that the final result wasn't exactly a masterpiece. There are roughly six and a half minutes of deleted scenes, two minutes of bloopers, three music videos ("Accessory" by Jordyn Taylor, "Takes Time to Love" by Trey Songz, and "Stuck with Each Other" by Shontelle and Akon), and six mini features: "Wardrobe by Patricia Field" (3 min.), "Temple of Shopping" (2.5 min.), "The Green Scarf" (1.5 min.), "New York Fashion Central" (2.5 min.), "Sample Sale Madness" (2 min.), and "Window Shopping" (2 min.). For shopaholics, there's also a $10.00 fashion cash card (while supplies last) that can be used as a $10 off coupon on an order from a fashion store that's out of my price range.

Bottom Line:
Isla Fisher gives it all she's got, and Hugh Dancy does his best, but the parts never come together to make "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a zinger of a romantic comedy.

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