Walt Disney's comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic is a movie about a young woman whose compulsive shopping habit plunges her into debt and a financial crisis.
Talk about timing.
The movie opens on Thursday at a time when consumers are drowning in credit card debt and suffering through what might be the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Based on the bestselling novels by Sophie Kinsella and starring up-and-comer Isla Fisher, Shopaholic's director was P.J. Hogan, who also directed My Best Friend's Wedding.
Shopaholic could be viewed as a parable for present times.
Fisher's fashion-obsessed character, however, eventually digs out from under her misguided ways and learns what's important in life.
Call it Hollywood make-believe slams into real life.
The time between when a film is conceived and developed and when it rolls into theatres shows how the selling of movies can be complicated by the turn of current events.
Although it might seem the worst possible moment to release a movie - even a comedy - about the financial perils of overspending, Disney marketers and Shopaholic's producer believe that the bleak climate could work to the film's advantage.
"The timing for this movie couldn't be better," producer Jerry Bruckheimer said.
"This is the journey of a young girl who has a problem and she turns her life around.
"It's a tale the whole world can learn a lesson from."
Bruckheimer had the project in development for eight years before it was made.
When Disney gave the green light to Shopaholic 12 months ago, the world looked considerably different.
The Dow Jones industrial average was still more than 12,000, only four months from its peak, and many economists had predicted that the worst of the mortgage crisis was behind us.
Despite warning signals, few were paying attention to the nearly $US1 trillion in consumer credit card debt.
Much has changed.
Shopaholic's theme of overindulgence and unmitigated spending comes just as consumers are tapped out on their credit cards and feverishly pinching pennies, and retail spending is in free fall.
Shopaholic's poster shows Fisher weighted down with shopping bags, with the caption: "All she ever wanted was a little credit . . ."
Some observers worry those images might not sit well with moviegoers who are having a hard time making ends meet.
"The recession is catastrophic for many, many people," said Mark Young, who teaches entertainment business at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.
"Even though it's supposed to be a light-hearted comedy, if you just lost your home and can't pay your bills, the last thing you want to see is someone representing greed and excess."
Bruckheimer and Disney, however, said Shopaholic is not a celebration of the joys of shopping.
The film's protagonist, Rebecca Bloomwood, sees the light and reforms her ways.
Howard Bragman, a veteran Hollywood publicist, also believes the timing of Shopaholic's release will work in Disney's favour.
"We need glamour and escapism more than ever," he said.
"Let's put it this way.
"No-one at the Golden Globes was walking down the red carpet in burlap or dresses from the Gap."
