Even though I do not have the eponymous condition, a title like Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) is bound to get a Catholic’s notice.  The Sacrament of Reconciliation is one that is unique to Catholicism in the Christian world.  Other Christians will tell you that we need to admit our sins to God as part of having a relationship with Him, and on that we agree.  However, the Church has always interpreted Jesus’ telling His disciples in Matthew 18:18-20 that whatever they bind and loose on Earth being reflected in Heaven as giving the authority of absolution of sins.  Our process is a private one, taking place solely between the recalcitrant and the priest.  Since God is present in those moments, and is specifically called upon in the Confessional, the priest becomes the vessel by which reconciliation with God is achieved.  Contrition is key, and with that whatever has been ruptured with God can be mended.  By the way, this is not me simply using the title to give you a bit of Catholic theology.  It is a fitting metaphor for the entire film as you are about to read.

Rebecca Bloomwood’s (Isla Fisher) first of her Confessions of a Shopaholic is that as a child (Madeleine Rockwitz), her thrifty parents always purchased her the least expensive clothes.  When she became an adult, though, she discovered what she refers to as the “magical” little rectangles of plastic known as credit cards.  They allow her to buy all the sparkly and trendy things that allow her to become a budding fashionista with dreams of writing for the best magazine for the latest styles, Alette.  She is currently at a smaller publication, working with her best friend and roommate, Suze Cleath-Stewart (Krysten Ritter).  On this day, Suze is the breaker of bad news as she looks over just one of the massive credit card bills amassed by Rebecca.  Suze preaches some restraint, but these suggestions are brushed aside as Rebecca has an interview she has long been anticipating with Alette.  Therefore, Rebecca needs to obtain some more items and she finds what she believes to be the perfect green scarf to complete her ensemble.  Unfortunately, the various methods of payments she attempts to use to complete the sale do not work, forcing her to try to cash a check with a hotdog vendor.  It is there that she meets Luke Brandon (Hugh Dancy), editor-in-chief for the financial periodical Successful Saving.  Listening to her predicament, he generously gives her the extra cash and departs.  Unfortunately, when she arrives for the appointment with Alette she is told that the long-legged (their description) Alicia Billington (Leslie Bibb) has already filled the position.  The building doorman, however, gives Rebecca some insider advice: both the magazines are owned by the same company.  There is an opening with Successful Saving.  By getting in the door, she has a better of opportunity of advancing to where she really wants.  The person with whom she next meets is, of course, Luke.  Their discussion does not go well.  To make matters worse, when she returns to her current office, she learns that the publication is folding and she is out of a job.  Despair leads to drinking with Suze, which turns into a renewed determination to get to where Rebecca wants to go.  Thus, in her inebriated state, she writes a letter to Alette re-stating her qualifications in the form of an article, and a rude missive to Luke.  As might be expected given their boozing, they confuse the addresses and Luke gets the one intended for Alette.  Rebecca then sneaks into the fashion periodical’s headquarters to take back her envelope, but runs into Luke on the way out of the building.  He is impressed with her writing and offers her a job.  Needing income to handle her mountain of debt, but aware of the hypocrisy of someone with her cash problems employed by such a periodical, she does her best to fake her qualifications.  What she does have is a talent for writing and a charming personality.  After a first draft of her article that looked like it had been copied from a self-help book, she instead addresses the issue of store credit by metaphorically using some of her own experiences.  The piece is a worldwide hit, and she becomes known as the girl in the green scarf, a penname inspired by the accessory from the day of her interview.  This solidifies her position, but her debt collectors continue to harass her.  One in particular, Derek Smeath (Robert Stanton), constantly pursues her, which she plays off as an ex-boyfriend stalking her.  Meanwhile, Luke invites Rebecca to a conference in Miami, Florida, where she continues to impress those who meet her.  It is during this trip that Luke begins to fall in love with her, though this is temporarily interrupted when she misinterprets him taking Alicia to a ball as them dating.  Getting back to New York, Derek’s hounding has Suze forcing Rebecca to go to a shopper’s anonymous meeting.  Yet, when it comes around to her turn to speak, she has such glowing things to say about department stores that it causes everyone, including the one leading to group, to immediately go out and buy something.  While this is not ideal, Suze does convince Rebecca to wear one of the many dresses Rebecca already owns to the aforementioned soiree.  With some clumsy encounters thrown in for comedic effect, Rebecca once more dazzles.  Indeed, she catches the eye of Alette Naylor (Kristin Scott Thomas), that Alette, who offers to dress Rebecca for an upcoming television appearance.  As they are picking out the clothing, an increasingly jealous Alicia notices Derek calling Rebecca’s phone.  Hoping to defeat a potential rival, Alicia arranges for the debt collector to be in the audience at the live shoot.  In this way, he is able to expose Rebecca for the fraud that she is to w wide audience, which stuns everyone, particularly Luke.  She is disgraced, but she does not stay down for long.  After selling her entire wardrobe to pay what she owes, and turning down a job offer from Alette personally, she makes amends with Suze for giving away the bridesmaid’s dress for Suze’s wedding.  She realizes that the people are more important than the things, and successfully walks past several shop windows on her way out of the ceremony.  Along the way, she runs into Luke, who forgives her and hires her to write for his own, new magazine.

That Rebecca is able to more fully understand that relationships with people are better than stuff you can purchase at a store is one of the reasons why I liked Confessions of a Shopaholic.  I could also go on from a Catholic perspective about how the key to reconciling those relationships came only after admitting her faults, which is at the heart of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  God accepts us back because, no matter what we have done, He wants us to know Him and love Him as much as he does us.  It works a little differently with the people in our lives.  So much of God is a mystery, and Faith is about taking a lifetime to learn about Him.  Our loved ones are less complicated.  We are called to put our trust in others, but that does not mean that we have to reconcile with another if that trust is broken.  You should forgive, but that can be all.  Put another way, forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same.  To explain this further in light of the film, I will explore more the relationship between Rebecca and Suze.  Suze naturally asks her best friend to be the maid of honor for her wedding.  Unfortunately, Rebecca brings the bags containing the dress she got with Alette and the maid of honor dress to a shopper’s anonymous meeting.  The new leader, Miss Korch (Wendie Malick), brings the sacks inside and forces Rebecca to immediately accompany her to Goodwill to donate the items.  Rebecca is not allowed to correct the situation until later, and then only has money for one of them.  She chooses what she is supposed to wear for television even when she could have used any of the numbers already in her closet.  In other words, Rebecca picked a thing over a person. With Suze, there is not much Rebecca needs to confess as the roommate is intimately familiar with Rebecca’s financial struggles.  Further, Suze had been doing a Christian thing by trying to help her friend.  It is not easy to stand up to those we care about, and Suze deserves credit for doing so.  It is a blessing that they are good people, and all they need is a few words to make everything right again.  People think that Confession is an elaborate process.  Most priests will tell you that they wish those in the Confessional were more succinct.

God works in mysterious ways, and Confessions of a Shopaholic is proof of this truth.  I did not expect to enjoy it as I did, nor to be as attracted to Rebecca as I ended up being, but that is a discussion for another time.  Until then, I recommend this one without reservations.