Confessions of a Shopaholic Review (Possible Spoilers)

I LOVED the books!

So of course I had to see the movie. And thankfully I was prepared ahead of time for how much it is changed from the books. For starters, it's set in NYC instead of London. So Rebecca Bloomwood is American instead of British and that makes a huge difference. At least they kept Luke british. Instead already being a successful businessman, Luke is just managing a financial magazine. Although by the end of the movie, he is starting his own company thanks to Rebecca of course.

I absolutely did not like the changes they made to two of the characters. Her best friend and room mate Suze is just not the same in this book. She was just a little two off the wall and slapstick for me. And Derek Smeath, the bank manager who dogged her throughout the first book, is definitely not what I expected or wanted. It was kind of fun at first how they had him in a cloak of mystery and you could only hear his voice. But in the end, they just turned him into a jerk and he is much more understanding and compassionate in the book. Even though financially Becky doesn't deserve it.

I was satisfied to an extent with the actor they picked to portray Luke (Hugh Dancy) I pictured him a little more solid and confident, but overall his character stayed the same. Rebecca was a little disappointing for me but I don't think it was the fault of the actress (Isla Fisher) I think it was the changes they made to her overall character and story line that brought her down for me.

Her parents were John Goodman and Joan Cusak who are a charming almost ditzy English couple in the books. Here they are almost hippie like and very frugal. Plus, Joan Cusak just did not seem old enough to play her mom. I know she's in her 40's, and Rebecca does not seem as young in the movie as she is in the book (23 or 24) I think.

What I found most interesting was that they basically crammed the first two stories (Shopaholic and Shopaholic Takes Manhattan) into one movie. I didn't realize when I first started watching. But the ending is pretty much the ending of the first book. So if they do another movie, it will all begin with book three - Shopaholic Ties the Knot. I wouldn't mind a second movie. And I'm pretty sure they were setting things up for one since they talked about Luke's mom a lot, but never introduced her on screen.

Overall, I would give it three stars out of five. It was still kind of a fun movie. The acting was pretty solid and the story line would be interesting for those who have not read the books. But for serious fans of the book, I think it falls a little flat. I had high expectations when I heard a movie was being made, and am left feeling disappointed.