Many books end up being made into movies. I have seen many movies based on books, though I haven’t already read the book before seeing the movie. I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to see In Her Shoes when I first saw the trailer a few months ago. I recently had the chance to see it. I ended up enjoying it for the most part, but it isn’t one of my favorite movies.
Maggie and Rose Feller were two very different sisters that only had a shoe size in common. Rose had to go out the first time Jim Danvers, a lawyer from her firm, stayed over to pick up her sister who was very drunk. Maggie had been staying with their dad and step mom, but Sydelle was fed up and kicked her step daughter out. Rose was forced to bring Maggie back home with her. Maggie had a tendency to steal from family members if she could. She was snooping through her dad’s desk one day looking for cash when she discovered all kinds of cards for her and Rose from their grandmother that they had never received. Rose kept trying to do things to encourage Maggie to find a new job and her own place to live that didn’t work. After Rose ordered her sister out, Maggie did something on purpose to hurt her sister which caused a huge fight.
Maggie was planning to go to New York City to follow her dream of becoming an actress when she remembered she had a grandmother in Florida. Maggie headed there instead and was able to find her grandmother. Ella was shocked but she took her granddaughter in, hoping they could finally have a relationship. Maggie just seemed interested in lounging around the pool in a skimpy bikini. The two women did have some conversations and started to develop a relationship. Ella was also interested in getting to know Rose, who still had no idea her grandmother was alive. Back in Philadelphia, Rose was trying to get on with her life and ended up starting a relationship with Simon Stein, another lawyer. Rose was truly happy with Simon, but even though she had been hurt by Maggie she deeply missed her sister. Some things happened that put the sisters together in Florida so they could deal with their problems.
In Her Shoes was based on the book of the same name by Jennifer Weiner. I haven’t read the book so I don’t know how close the movie stayed to the book. The plot was somewhat complex since each sister had things they had to deal with on their own as well as together. A few short scenes introducing Ella were shown before Maggie went to Florida. Once Maggie moved in with Ella, the movie jumped between what was happening in Florida and Philadelphia. It was easy to keep track of what was going on, though I wasn’t sure how much time passed. It was never said for sure how much time passed between any of the events. I would have liked to have known that. The fact that the plot was complex made the move longer. It was just over two hours which did seem a bit long to me. There were scenes, especially in the beginning, that dragged. The pace did seem to pick up once Ella was introduced. Even though I felt like the movie was too long, there were a few minor things that felt unresolved to me once it was over.
The main point of In Her Shoes seemed to be to explore the complex relationship that Rose and Maggie shared. Rose was the serious dependable sister that struggled with her weight and self image. She felt like men didn’t see her when Maggie was around. Rose did what she could to help Maggie, though she did get frustrated and annoyed by her sister’s antics. Maggie was fun loving, flighty, and a bit wild. She couldn’t hold down jobs for any length of time. She was in great shape and used her looks to get men to do things for her. Maggie had her own insecurities as well that most people didn’t seem to notice because of the way she looked. Relationships between sisters can be complicated and have their ups and downs. Even so, I can’t imagine ever doing to anyone what Maggie did. I found it hard to believe that Rose could get past that. I would hope that what Maggie did isn’t typical between sisters. I didn’t feel like I could relate to the characters at all. Maybe that was because I’m an only child. Women that have sisters may connect to the movie more. I also didn’t get the obsession that Maggie and Rose had with shoes. At one point, Rose said that she got the shoes because they always fit, unlike clothes. I found that funny because I have a harder time finding shoes that fit than I do clothes, especially any kind of dressy shoe.
When Maggie found all the cards from Ella, she just saw an opportunity to sponge off of someone new for a while. After she was in Florida for a while, she did develop a relationship with her grandmother as well as several of the other residents of the retirement community where Ella lived. Maggie and Ella had a few talks that showed that Maggie’s dad had kept things related to his wife’s death from Maggie and Rose. The scenes of the movie that dealt with those issues were more serious and dramatic. They might be upsetting for some people to see. More of the truth came out once Rose arrived in Florida. Some other more serious events happened over the course of the movie and there were a few scenes that might bring on tears. There were some more light hearted and funny moments in the movie, but I felt that it was more of a drama. This did seem like a chick flick type of movie to me. This isn’t a movie for children.
When In Her Shoes started, the credits were inter cut with shots of Rose hooking up with Jim for the first time and of Maggie at her high school reunion. Maggie was very drunk and was attempting to have sex in a public restroom when she ended up throwing up a bit. That seemed to kill the guy’s mood. Maggie never saw Todd again. Rose and Jim didn’t have much of a relationship even though they had sex. After things feel apart and Maggie went to Florida, Rose ended up getting involved with Simon. They had worked together for a long time though Rose hadn’t really seen him as a potential boyfriend before. Their relationship was shown as it progressed without it becoming the major focus of the movie. Really only one love scene was shown between them. The scene only showed some kisses, skipped over the actual sex, and then showed them laying together after. The most graphic part of the scene was when Simon was reading out of a really bad romance novel for some reason.
Maggie tended to do a lot of flirting, though she did tone it down some after she was more settled with Ella. Maggie didn’t get involved with any men after arriving in Florida, though there was a minor hint at a possible future relationship that wasn’t explored. I did wonder about that after the movie was over. Maggie showed off a lot of skin throughout the movie. She was never naked, but there were times when she was only barely covered, like when she went strutting out to the pool for the first time. Several of the men that lived there saw her go by and their eyes about popped out of their heads. Maggie was involved in a few very short sex scenes early in the movie that really didn’t show anything. Ella had been a widow for several years, though there was a man that was interested in her.
Maggie and Rose were the main characters in the movie and at least one of them was in most of the scenes. They did end up spending a large portion of the movie apart. Rose was more steady, though she had a few moments after the fight with Maggie where she flipped out a bit. I did think Toni Collette was good in the part. I do think that things were done to make her look plainer and more unattractive than she really is. Maggie changed a lot over the course of the movie. I thought she was very selfish and just not a nice person early in the movie. It was very hard for me to care about her, especially after what she did to her sister. Maggie ended up being more complex than she seemed at first Cameron Diaz was good in the part and this was probably her best performance. I’ve never been a fan of Diaz and frankly I think she is very over rated. The last movies I’ve watched that she was in were the Shrek movies.
Ella wasn’t around for the beginning of the movie. She was living in a retirement community in Florida and did things to help out the other people there. She was happy to get the chance to know Maggie, though she wasn’t taken in by Maggie’s act. Ella didn’t have a whole lot to do and wasn’t as developed as the sisters. Shirley MacLaine was fine in the part. None of the other characters were used as much or that developed. Many of them were rather flat. Sydelle came across as a horribly nasty woman. She was constantly running down Maggie and Rose while saying how perfect her daughter Marsha was. Simon had the chance to be around a bit more once the relationship with Rose started. There were a lot of characters that have very little to do.
CAST
Candice Azzara - Sydelle Feller
Richard Burgi - Jim Danvers
Toni Collette - Rose Feller
Cameron Diaz - Maggie Feller
Mark Feuerstein - Simon Stein
Ken Howard - Michael Feller
Shirley MacLaine - Ella Hirsch
Curtis Hanson - Director
In Her Shoes was a mostly entertaining movie thought I thought it had some problems and it is far from a favorite movie for me. People that have read and enjoyed the book may like the movie. Fans of the cast may also enjoy it. The movie is worth seeing for people who like movies that explore relationships.
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