Mark Kozelek Movies
Steve Martin wrote the screenplay and served as co-producer for this screen adaptation of his short novel, which takes a witty but bittersweet look at a young woman and the two men involved with her. Mirabelle Buttersfield (Claire Danes) is an aspiring artist in her mid-twenties who, after graduating from college, moved to Los Angeles, where she works at the glove counter of an upscale department store. Mirabelle's job is simple and not demanding, but it doesn't pay especially well, and she finds herself struggling to get out from under a growing mountain of debt from student loans and credit cards. One night, while doing her laundry, Mirabelle meets Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman), a scruffy but likable would-be musician who makes ends meet selling guitar amps. While Jeremy is obviously infatuated with Mirabelle, she isn't sure how she feels about him, especially after she meets Ray Porter (Steve Martin), a man in his fifties whom she meets at the store. Ray is independently wealthy, intelligent, and charming, and after asking her out on a date he sweeps her off her feet. However, while Mirabelle quickly falls for Ray and he's generous to a fault with her, he refuses to commit exclusively to her and suggests they should both see other people, a prospect that no longer holds much appeal for her. Shopgirl received its world premiere at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Claire Danes, (more)
- 2001
In this drama, a young man lacks the wherewithal to move on with his life after a failed relationship leaves him shattered. Jim (Charlie Hofheimer) grew up in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, a community on the decline in New York State. After graduating from high school, while most of his friends have gone on to college or moved away, Jim has stayed put, taking a low-paying job with the local cab company and obsessing over his brief affair with Cathy (Laurel Holloman), a neighborhood woman who is married and the mother of a young child. As Jim deals with his ambitious father (James Rebhorn) who is pressuring him to go to school, a roommate (Avery Glymph) whose first priority is his studies, and a close friend, Scooter (Leo Fitzpatrick), whose life is stuck even farther in neutral than his own, Jim finds himself falling into yet another self-destructive relationship, with Irma (Karen Shallo), a brassy but aging barmaid who is well aware that life has passed her by. Last Ball is the first feature film from writer and director Peter Callahan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlie Hofheimer, Laurel Holloman, (more)
