Martin's little-movie-that-could

I believe I might be one of 12 people in the state who have actually read Steve Martin's little-book-that-could, "Shopgirl." It was great, it was funny, it was touching, it was basically impossible to visualize as a film. Still, when I heard Martin was going to write the screenplay himself, I was hopeful. Then when I heard Jimmy Fallon was going to play one of the main characters, things looked dim. Thank goodness he left the project to go make that self-indulgent tripe about how great his favorite baseball team is, "Fever Pitch." Otherwise, Martin may not have been able to turn his little-book-that-could into his little-movie-that-could.\n"Shopgirl" is the story of Mirabelle (Claire Danes), a native of Vermont who moves to L.A. to become an artist. She gets a job selling gloves at a posh Beverly Hills store. In her loneliness, she begins a relationship with an immature graphic designer named Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman). Then she meets Ray Porter (Steve Martin). He is much older, rich, divorced and openly using Mirabelle for sex. The rest of the film focuses on the slightly twisted relationship between Ray and Mirabelle, as Mirabelle must find out for herself whether or not Ray actually loves her.\nMartin's screenplay is good. He had a tough job in adapting his novella, which is mostly narrative text (and vague narrative text at that). However, what really pushes this movie is the acting. Claire Danes is wonderful in the lead role. Look for her to get nominated for at least a Golden Globe. In fact, if this movie sneaks into the comedy section, I wouldn't be surprised if she takes one home. Schwartzman, too, is great. More than once he completely steals the scene away from the two lead actors, sometimes with nothing more than a gesture. If there were any justice in the world, he would get an Oscar nod for Supporting Actor. Unfortunately, there is no justice in the world, and for some reason the MPAA doesn't think being funny counts as acting.\nUnfortunately, right now "Shopgirl" has a limited release, which basically means it's not playing anywhere near Bloomington. But look for a wider release in the coming weeks. When "Shopgirl" does finally reach Bloomington, it's well worth seeing. You'll laugh. You'll cry.You'll utter old tired clichés about movies.