'Confessions of a Shopaholic' provides extra sugar for your Valentine's Day weekend

Rebecca Bloomwood can’t resist clothes shopping. No el-cheapo mall stuff, or clothing from mainstream department stores. It’s high-end swank or nothing. Her problem: expensive taste on a pauper budget.

An enchanting Ilsa Fisher (Definitely, Maybe) plays Rebecca. She is $16,000 in debt, credit card limits maxed, haunted by a relentless debt collector and still she shops. Rebecca lucks out, lands a journalism gig at a progressive business magazine and while hypocritically explaining the negatives of debt to the masses becomes the publication’s most popular feature.

And she falls in love with her editor.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Forget the high fashion, this is strictly a bargain basement love story accessorized by the goofy and amiable enabler best friend, cliché business types, even more cliché but supportive parents, and ha-ha aren’t they funny shopaholics at shopaholics anonymous. Confession struggles as Director P.J. Hogan ( Muriel’s Wedding) and three writers force you to wade through dozens of racks of clothes and accessories and predictable problems before getting to the even more predictable meltdown and the happily-ever-after ending.

Based on two of five Shopaholic books by Sophie Kinsella, Confessions of a Shopaholic, will appeal to love story addicts wanting to add a little more sugar to a Valentine’s Day weekend date.

It is charming enough to get a borderline positive recommendation. Sorry, that won’t mean much to the non-romantics stuck suffering through this to please their loved one. Just grin, grimace and bear it, the movie is short.

I have even more bad news for that same group. Confessions of a Shopaholic will be a big enough box office success that we’ll likely see a sequel. If not next Valentine’s Day weekend then soon.

The only hope I can offer is that we’ll get lucky and it’ll be one movie based on the remaining three books and not three more movies.

Mr. Movie rating: 3 stars

Rated PG for mature themes. It opens Friday, Feb. 13 at Regal’s Columbia Mall 8 and at Fairchild Cinemas 12.

5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.