Movie · 2005 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 10m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.2/10 (68.7K ratings)
Friends. Rivals. Sisters.
Overview
Irresponsible party girl Maggie is kicked out of her father's and stepmother's home—where she lives for free—and is taken in by her hard-working sister, Philadelphia lawyer Rose. After Maggie's disruptive ways ruin her sister's love life, Rose turns her out as well. But when their grandmother, who they never knew existed, comes into their lives, the sisters face some complicated truths about themselves and their family.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.2/10
IMDb: 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
Metacritic: 60
TMDB: 6.2/10
Director
Curtis Hanson
Production
Deuce Three Productions, Fox 2000 Pictures, Scott Free Productions
Cast
Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine, Mark Feuerstein, Ken Howard, Richard Burgi, Brooke Smith, Candice Azzara, Francine Beers, Anson Mount, Eric Balfour, Andy Powers, Jerry Adler, John Mastrangelo Sr., Emilio Mignucci, Terrance Christopher Jones, Nicole Randall Johnson, Kateri DeMartino, Brandon Karrer, Jon Ingrassia
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, emotionally sincere sister drama with strong performances, especially from Toni Collette and Cameron Diaz, but it’s uneven in tone and occasionally feels like a polished mid-2000s tearjerker. It works best when it leans into family wounds, class contrast, and late-blooming self-acceptance.
Best for
viewers who like character-driven family dramas
fans of sister stories and generational reconciliation
people who enjoy emotional but accessible adult relationships
audiences interested in strong female ensemble acting
Skip if
you want a tightly plotted comedy
you dislike sentimentality or melodrama
you prefer edgy or highly original storytelling
you are looking for a romance-forward film
Overview
In Her Shoes is the kind of movie that sneaks up on you by being more emotionally observant than its breezy setup suggests. What begins as a clash between a responsible lawyer and her chaotic sister gradually becomes a story about shame, inheritance, and the ways family roles calcify over time. Curtis Hanson keeps it approachable, but the film’s real strength is the lived-in friction between the sisters and the way both actresses find vulnerability under familiar types.
Worth noting
Toni Collette gives the film its bruised center, balancing resentment, insecurity, and comic timing without losing credibility. Cameron Diaz, meanwhile, is sharper and more grounded than her party-girl image might suggest, and the film benefits from letting her character’s damage show through the charm. Shirley MacLaine adds a dry, stabilizing presence that helps the story widen from sibling conflict into something more generational.
Bottom line
It doesn’t fully escape the soft-focus tendencies of early-2000s adult drama, and some of the humor and romance feel secondary to the emotional material. Still, it has a humane, forgiving tone that makes it easy to recommend to viewers who want a sincere relationship film with real acting and a few hard-earned catharses.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Clayton Walter (3.5★) · 1096 likes
Toni Collette's audition tape for Hereditary was just the scene of her brandishing a knife and screaming "I'm talking to my friend!"
Megan (1.5★) · 798 likes
One of my least favorite genres: Movies Where We Are Supposed to Believe Toni Collette is Fat and / or Ugly
coleman spilde (3.5★) · 734 likes
I thought this was gonna be a lighthearted comedy but it was actually a heavy, emotional drama where Cameron Diaz's character can't read
everetticent (5★) · 513 likes
stanley kubrick famously stated that In Her Shoes was the movie that made him want to be a director
riki (3.5★) · 421 likes
Clothes never look any good
Food just makes me fatter
Shoes always fit !!!!/!/!!:((((
2003 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 6.0/10 (51K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
An intimate family film that finds tenderness in awkwardness, estrangement, and holiday pressure.