After a month in theaters, In Her Shoes has barely broken even at the box office and probably will soon slip away onto DVD, evading Oscar talk and much discussion at all.
Sometimes the really good ones just get away.
Shoes certainly doesn't look like it has much going for it. Its marketing campaign centered more on spunky star Cameron Diaz - a love-hate movie star, it seems - and what she looks like in a two-piece. To boot, what is Curtis Hanson doing directing this, and who the hell is Toni Collette?
It is shocking, then, that Hanson's adaptation of the best-selling novel not only is one of the most moving and entertaining movies of the year but one of the best. Although a link to James L. Brooks' 1983 classic Terms of Endearment exists because Shirley Maclaine co-stars here, Shoes explores the tumultuous but unbreakable bond of family just as well. To do Terms one better, there's no four-hankie death scene at the end.
Diaz stars as Maggie Feller, a grown woman who hides her dyslexia under her stunning physical appearance and the begrudging support of her sister, Rose (Collette). The opening scene - Maggie hiking up her dress with Ted ... or Tad? in a public restroom at her high school reunion - perfectly introduces her character.
Meanwhile, Rose slaves away at a law firm and hides a secret office relationship. When Maggie has to move in with Rose, however, it all eventually comes crashing down in a confrontation when Rose spews her anguish and exasperation in a way that affirms her status as a grossly underappreciated actress. Enter Ella Hirsch (Maclaine), a widow living in a Florida retirement community, who receives a knock on her door one day. It's Maggie, her granddaughter, and she needs a place to crash.
As Rose starts anew in her life and Maggie flourishes under the eye of her grandmother in Florida, Susannah Grant's script could go wrong in so many ways. Shoes could get bogged down in pointless relationship subplots or resort to cheesy coming-of-age character arcs, but miraculously, it doesn't. Even when a tragic event of the sisters' past is presented, the movie refrains from shameless tear jerking. Shoes just keeps unfolding with this elegant pace that is soothing and cathartic unlike anything I have seen in months.
What is so remarkable about In Her Shoes is its nuance, a trait not usually found in chick flicks. Maclaine holds back from her usual theatrics, and Diaz gives a performance just as award-worthy as her turn in There's Something About Mary but completely different. A great deal of praise is due to Hanson, though, who is quickly becoming the go-to director for book adaptations with L.A. Confidential
Wonder Boys (both among the best films of their respective decades) and now In Her Shoes. He has a true gift of eliciting remarkable performances from actors not known for such, like Kim Basinger, Eminem and Diaz.
As a non-fan of long movies, I, too, cringed at the 130-minute running time before I saw it. Not only does Shoes feel shorter than some films clocking in at 90 minutes, but it is difficult to even leave it at the end. I wanted to stay longer with the characters and see how they continue to gradually change.
In theaters right now, there are movies of higher acting pedigree than In Her Shoes - movies that have made more cash at the box office and movies that have certainly received better reviews.
Who cares? In Her Shoes reminded me of why I wade through endless crowds, sit with annoying audiences but sometimes walk out feeling better about everything. See it before it's too late.
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Matt Burns
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Carefree Maggie (Cameron Diaz) channel surfs as her sister Rose (Toni Collette) attemps to help her with her resume in the romantic comedy In Her Shoes.
