Sai and Shujath talk Cinema

I wouldn’t really have watched this movie which at the outset looked like a regular chick flick but established names like Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, director Curtis Hanson and a bunch of glowing reviews made me go for it…and I wasn’t disappointed at all.

I’ve always found the theme of warring siblings very appealing though it has been done to death many times. More than that it is about the unlikely reunion of an estranged family. Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette are sisters who never really get along but an ugly incident drives them totally away from each other. Diaz - who till now lead a carefree life out of others money is now out alone to fend herself; a few events lead her to her hiterto unknown grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) in a new town. She mellows down a bit and becomes more responsible as she and her grandmother slowly bond. Collette comes later into the scene and one can guess how it all ends.

A story like this has lots of cliches and the trick is to have them in the right places and in the right quantity….this is where Curtis Hanson succeeds. But what ultimately stand out are the performances of Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. I had seen Collette earlier only in a brief role in The Sixth Sense but she is wonderful here. She plays the typical deadpan, responsible elder sister to perfection. MacLaine as the grandmother is also great. Cameron Diaz has pretty much the same role she as in any other movie of hers.

In her Shoes with its fine mix of humour and emotions is something which should appeal to everyone.