The Shop Girl Deserves a Man Who Loves Her

The plane ride was long, so there were more movies on Virgin last night. The second feature was made from a Steve Martin novella, The Shop Girl. Once again it was a case of characters developing, changing, and moving forward in their lives that made this movie poignant and delightful. The shopgirl is the beautiful Claire Danes, beautiful in her classic lines and becoming smile. She works at Saks, and meets Steve Martin, an irresistable 50-something multi-millionaire who woos here in a style that becomes a man of taste and wealth. At the same time, she meets a man her age in a laundromat, and he clumsily tries to take her out.

Martin's Ray Porter has all of the things that a woman would want, he makes me jealous just thinking of the trappings he brings to the table--private jet, house overlooking LA, a Seattle pad, and the ability to buy apartments and pay off massive college loans. But the one thing he can't offer is true fidelity and devotion....that's a little harder, and as he says, money is the easy thing to give.

All the while the younger man is learning and growing, and when he tells her he'll protect her, our hearts are with them--despite Porter's charm, sophistication and generosity. It was so sweet the way this movie evolves, in a wonderfully slow and deliberate way that works perfectly.