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The Jane Austen Book
Club
Directed by: Robin Swicord
Starring: Emily Blunt
Genre:
Romance/Comedy/
Drama
Run Time: 106 min.
Release Date:
October 2007
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
We’ve all heard the term
“chick flick”, I’m sure. Well ...THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB
certainly rests comfortably within that sexist genre. Of course, Jane
Austen’s books appeal more to women than to men, too, having been
romanticized to the extreme on celluloid (some of them multiple times).
And here we get a double dose of Austen via five women and one clueless
guy.
The women are socially stunted in some way. Jocelyn (Maria Bello,
A HISTORY OF
VIOLENCE) avoids male connections by burying herself in
her dog kennel. Prudie (Emily Blunt,
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA) is a high
school French teacher who’s enraptured with one of her students and
distancing herself from her husband (Marc Blucas,
FIRST DAUGHTER).
Bernadette (Kathy Baker) is a serial marrying woman who
can’t settle down with one man. Silvia (Amy Brenneman) just found out
from her husband that he’s been having an affair and wants a divorce
...all while juggling her own life and that of a lesbian daughter
(Maggie Grace, LOST). The man in “the Club” is a guy named Grigg (Hugh
Dancy) who’s initially brought in to hook up with Silvia but finds he’s
more interested in Jocelyn, causing all kinds of unusual sparks to fly.
The book club is started roughly by Bernadette and it is unclear as to
why this was done. Considering this is a vital plot point for the film,
I felt there should’ve been a much more defining moment surrounding the
clubs creation. It was also hard to swallow the fact that simply by
reading one of Austen’s books, it could save a marriage. Although
romantic to think about, Austen’s books, characters, and plots were
never that simple (this storyline happens late in the film and was just
too pat).
There were some pretty funny moments. Most of them surround Grigg,
though, the Austen-challenged man in this estrogen-filled club. His lack
of understanding of Austen’s stories are pretty funny (“They’re not
sequels?”) and the donning on him of what his true purpose within the
group is supposed to be is quite funny, too. But that’s about it for the
comedic side.
An interesting take on Karen Fowler’s novel by the same name, The Jane Austen Book Club probably reads better than it comes across on film. And
it’s a movie that is firmly ensconced for women’s enjoyment. For guys
this might be a tough one to sit through. If you couldn’t make it
through an Austen novel like Pride And Prejudice, you won’t be able to
make it through this one.
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Image from The Jane Austen
Book Club
DVD cost: $26.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite? No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
Each cast member was
required to read the said book they had to discuss in the picture.
Movie Quote: "Being
the only child of a woman who gave birth in a commune after changing her
name to Skygirl, I've come to loath hippie-handie crafts."
Other Actors/Actresses
from The Jane Austen Book Club
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