In Her Shoes Opens Today!

Go see it if you liked Thelma and Louise, Steel Magnolias, Beaches, Terms of Endearment or The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Or if you like Cameron Diaz, Shirley MacLaine, Toni Collette or Curtis Hanson.

It's a solidly crafted, completely mainstream, and enjoyable film that leaves you with a smile on your face and perhaps a tear in your eye. All three actresses are wonderful in their respective parts, with Collette being the standout. The Aussie actress is so appealing without ever coming across as sugary as, say, Meg Ryan or Sandra Bullock. Her steely demeanor only enhances her character's believability. Curtis Hanson proves that behind the more masculine-lined previous credentionals on his resume (LA Confidential, Wonder Boys, 8 Mile) there just might be some estrogen. He makes the standard, workmanlike flow of the movie completely unnoticable and allows the characters to drive the story. While their could have been more scenes setting up Diaz and Collette as through-good-times-and-bad sisters, the last act of the movie flows along without ever feeling like "oh god, we have to go through another conclusion." Be on alert for Francine Beers, though. In a year where Jane Seymour drops the clothes to get attention in a Frat Pack comedy, Beers effortlessly charms and steals every scene. "I'll take this to my grave tomorrow."

And for the guys who are worried about having to sit though this chick flick, know that Diaz is scantily clad through the whole thing. It's also pretty damn hard not to laugh during Diaz and Collette's "My Marcia..." scene.

In Her Shoes - 7/10