In Her Shoes (2005)

I myself have been blessed with a younger sibling who is three shoe sizes smaller than I am. Rose Feller (Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine) clearly wasn't. Younger sister Maggie (Cameron Diaz, Shrek 2) borrowed her pumps, heels, slippers, cash, apartment... as well as the odd bedfellow. Based on the Jennifer Weiner novel, director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) never allows any Hollywood gimmickry to participate in the movie. The soundtrack is either awful (think Bob Marley at a wedding after two hours of dialogue-only), or inexistant. Hanson relies on Collette and Diaz to set the mood in each scene.

Till about midway I gave up on the hope that the two sisters would ever magically change bodies. Instead, Hanson uses Rose's odd collection of shoes as a running theme - the shoes aren't odd, but as her sister points out, the fact that she is collecting them is. The girls are stark contrasts - one relies on her job to provide her with a definition of herself, while the other is apparently carefree, living off a shoestring. Diaz is exceptional and completely lends herself to the script. Collette is continously surprising, and moulds to the film's changing pace. Ella Hirsch (Bewitched), their grandmother, is played by Shirley MacLaine. She consistently adds colour to every scene and is very enjoyable to watch. When the girls fight and break apart they each embark on an unavoidable journey of remedial therapy and self-discovery.

It's a story of collision and separation as much as it is about loss, family and second chances. Good chick flick overall - I was sold.

General Trivia courtesy of imdb: Both the sister and the grandmother of the author of the original book (Jennifer Weiner) appear in the movie.

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