The Jane Austen Book Club dvd movie.|
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List Price: $26.96 Our Price: $17.99 You Save: $8.97 Features • AC-3 • Closed-captioned • Color • Dolby • Dubbed • DVD-Video • Subtitled • Widescreen • NTSC In Theaters : 05 October, 2007 DVD Release : 05 February, 2008 |
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The Jane Austen Book Club description Lest there be any doubts about the ongoing relevance of the novels of Jane Austen, the charming Jane Austen Book Club will lay them to rest--with wit, sharp insight, and a wicked chuckle or three. Directed by the talented Robin Swicord, who adapted the book by Karen Joy Fowler (and also wrote the crackling screenplay for the 1994 version of Little Women), the film is a modern-day comedy of manners, with deeply felt emotions, repressed feelings, unquenched desire and embarrassing relatives--all staples of Austen works. The film centers on a group of six friends in Sacramento, Calif., who gather to distract themselves from loss (a newly dumped Sylvia, played with grace and quiet pain by Amy Brenneman), repressed disappointment (the prissy teacher Prudie, played by Emily Blunt), or a life of unrealized dreams (Jocelyn, played by Maria Bello, whose acting skills have gained great nuance, both in comedy and drama). All are devoted Austen fans, except the lone man, Grigg (Hugh Dancy, adorable and available, ladies), who has an ulterior motive for joining the chick-lit gang. As the months unfold, we learn about the relationships of all the members, and watch as elements of Austen's novels and characters pop up with enchanting regularity. There's plenty of pride (Prudie), prejudice (Jocelyn), sense (Sylvia), and sensibility (Sylvia's daughter Allegra, headstrong and reckless in life and love, played by Maggie Grace)--and a fair amount of persuasion (Grigg and Sylvia's caddish ex, Daniel, a smooth Jimmy Smits). As the minuet of relationships and alliances unfolds over the months, the emotions are real and the leavening humor spot-on. About the only thing that doesn't ring true is seeing all these Sacramento women bundled up in shawls, blankets, thick sweaters and extra layers--even in July(!). Still, the film will engage even reluctant Austen readers (if there is such a thing). As Kathy Baker's Bernadette says gaily, "Jane Austen is the perfect antidote to life!" Elizabeth Bennett couldn't have put it better. --A.T. Hurley Stills from The Jane Austen Book Club (click for larger image)
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | Chick Lit Flick |
| 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, [[ASIN:B000E1126G A History of Violence]]) avoids male connections by burying herself in her dog kennel. Prudie (Emily Blunt, [[ASIN:B000J103PC 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, [[ASIN:B0006GAOCW First Daughter]]). Bernadette (Kathy Baker, [[ASIN:B0001MDP3G Cold Mountain]]) 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, [[ASIN:B00005JNOG 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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