Amy Adams to star in Object of Beauty

Steve Martin is/was a great comedian. You could say he peaked comedically in the 80’s with ¡Three Amigos!, All of Me, Little Shop of Horrors and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. The 90’s were basically a blur for Steve, riffing off old routines from his earlier, funnier movies. But I bet you didn’t know that Steve Martin was a writer as well. Not just for movies, but actual BOOKS. The great thing about being an established actor and a writer is that you can get your books made into films by the word ‘go’.

So, if this article is about Amy Adams, why the hell am I talking to you about Steve Martin? Well, he wrote the novel, Shopgirl, which was later translated to the screen and starred Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman and, yes, Steve Martin. Now Steve’s going to repeat history with his next novel-turned-movie, Object of Beauty, and it will star Amy Adams. Contrary to what that header would have you believe (nasty, lying headers), the story actually revolves around “an art entrepreneur over 15 years of her life, as she acquires her own gallery, travels the world and tangles romantically with a series of men, including one who becomes a famous artist.” So you see, the “object of beauty” here is paintings… Paintings.

Hit the jump for my analyzation and a trailer to Steve’s earlier film, Shopgirl. It’s really interesting, I promise.

Having seen Shopgirl, I think I can safely say that Object of Beauty will be nothing like your typical Steve Martin fair. You’re not going to see some zany comedy where people get tripped up or do weird, offensive impressions of famous dictators or whatever. Shopgirl actually had a very melancholic story, and there was a seemingly feministic approach to its characters, having you believe that a man must grow up before he can get into a relationship with a girl of similar maturity level. Since she falls for an older, more financially secure man in Steve Martin, it’s assumed she’s looking for someone older, but after meeting a more emotionally matured Jason Schwartzman, it’s clear that maturity is more than just having your life together. Meanwhile, the only character who doesn’t change is Claire Danes’ character, which is odd since she’s the main character.

It’s this sort of uneven approach to storytelling that makes Steve’s work come off as quirky, yet still entertaining, if not a bit overly sentimental. Hopefully Object of Beauty will offer up something of a more focused Steve Martin. See below for a trailer to Shopgirl, so you have some idea as to what to expect from Object of Beauty.