Confessions Of A Sociopathic Social Climber (4 Stars)

It's been so long since I've watched this film -- six years -- that I'd forgotten how good it is.

Jennifer Love Hewitt plays Katya Livingstone, a wannabe socialite and compulsive liar in San Francisco. She earns more than $100,000 a year in an advertising bureau, but she only got the job because she lied about her university degree. Don't they check things like that in America? Nevertheless, she's good at her job. Someone as shallow as her knows what appeals to other shallow people, so she's a valuable asset to her company. All her money is spent on her image to promote herself in the San Francisco party scene, whether it's clothes or jewellery, but even there she's willing to cheat. For instance, she buys expensive dresses for parties, then returns them afterwards, taking advantage of store 30 day return policies. Her best friend is a gay man, because in San Francisco it's considered chic to have a gay best friend. Supposedly gay men know best how a woman should look. Is there any truth in that?

The top socialite in the San Francisco scene is Dove Greenstein. Katya keeps close to her, feigning friendship  in order to belong to belong to the in crowd. This ploy breaks down when she's caught having sex with Dove's latest husband during the wedding reception. Even worse, she tells a local newspaper Dove's real age. A few months later there's a party as a fundraiser for Youth Aid, stylised as a Royal Ball, the biggest social event of the year. Everyone who is anyone in San Francisco will be there, but Dove Greenstein is responsible for the invitations, which she sends in the form of golden keys. Ouch! Katya devotes her whole life to getting an invitation, either stealing one or attaching herself to someone as a plus one.

Is there a moral to the story? Yes, a very shallow moral to match the life of a shallow party girl. Money can't buy you love. Or maybe it can, if you take advantage of the 30 day return policy. Katya will happily sink into the arms of any man willing to give her a golden key for the Royal Ball. Or is there more to love more than beautiful clothes and lavish parties? Katya has to find out the answer for herself.