Saturday, October 13, 2007

Movie Review: The Jane Austen Book Club

By Shawn Parikh

The Jane Austen Book Club

As five women and one enigmatic man meet to discuss the works of Jane Austen, they find their love lives playing out in a 21st century version of her novels. Sylvia, is shocked when her husband Daniel, leaves her after 20 plus years and three children. Jocelyn, her unmarried best friend, distracts herself from her unacknowledged loneliness by breeding dogs. Prudie is a young French teacher, in possession of a worthy husband yet distracted by persistent fantasies about sex with another man. The many times married Bernadette develops a yearning for one more chance at happiness. Beautiful, risk-taking Allegra, Sylvia and Daniel's lesbian daughter, has quit talking to her lover. And Grigg, a young science fiction fan and computer whiz, seems horribly both out of place and obliviously at ease as the only man to be invited into the book circle.

Source: Cinema Source

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This could possibly be the biggest “chick flick” ever invented. Sorry if that term offends anyone, but I just want to let you know what you are getting yourself into. I’m sure you could have figured that out from the title, Jane Austen Book Club, and I knew going in that I was going to be the only male in the theater, which I was. But all of this gender stereotyping aside, this movie was quite enjoyable because of the performances, but the action, outcome, and screenplay make it obvious that it is a much better book than the movie.

Based on Karen Joy Fowler’s book, the movie follows the lives of 5 women and 1 guy (who is trying to get with one of the women), and how their circumstances make them crave some Jane Austen. The characters’ relationships with their loved ones resemble characters in the books they are reading, and simultaneously, everyone learns and grows from what Austen has written.

Each woman’s situation differs from the next, presenting a great variety and dynamic between the characters. Bernadette (Kathy Baker) is essentially the founder of the group, who is older, wiser, and has been married several times. Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) has just been told by her husband that he has been cheating on her, they separate, and she is ultimately the reason the club was started. Her daughter, Allegra (Maggie Grace), is an extreme-sport lesbian who falls in love so fast, and goes to the book club to support her mom during the separation. Jocelyn (Maria Bello) plays Sylvia’s best friend who loves being single, and never sees herself being married. When she gets hit on by a younger male, Grigg (Hugh Dancy) who joins the club, she decides to just push him off onto Sylvia, and then this awkward love triangle generates. Finally, Prudie (Emily Blunt) is a neglected wife and a French teacher, having desires for one of her students because of her hapless marriage. She is found by Bernadette one night alone at a movie and is asked to join the women.

The women decide to read one of Jane Austen’s six major novels each month, and the movie is then divided into chapters representing each book: Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma.

The problems with the movie occur with the verbose screenplay. Because it is based on a book, and revolves around books, they discuss Austen’s novels at least 6 times, and the dialogue is so fast and wordy that I just tuned out. I’m sure the dialogue is heaven to any avid Austen fan, but to a non-reader, I felt useless. However, I do have to say that the movie made me want to read her books and see what these people were talking about.

The other problem is the ending. The lives of all these people just wrap up into a nice little bow, and it seems so forced. I understand that Austen changed their lives and helped them to understand their relationships, but things end too perfectly. There was one storyline I didn’t buy for one second because of its abruptness, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Aside from these qualms, the concept of the movie and growth of the characters are great, and each actor portrays their idiosyncrasies skillfully. The subtle humor and the actresses are what make this a decent afternoon of movie-watching.

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