Annie had a craving for a real chick flick. I suggested The Jane Austen Book Club, which I hadn't seen, but which seemed to fit all the requirements: largely female cast, female writer/director, Jane Austen. The movie soundly delivers as a chick flick, but satisfies little else.
The plot is appropriately contrived, cute, corny, and comfortably wrapped up at the end.
The directing is uninspired but does allow the actors to shine when they can--Maria Bello in particular is hugely underrated, and Hugh Dancy's comedic turns are pretty adorable. Also HOW IS HIS NAME HUGH DANCY!? Doesn't that sound like a joke? It made me giggle when I watched the credits, beginning and end.
The characters are, for the most part, interesting and multifaceted, and the relevance between Jane Austen's books and their lives is interestingly explored and amusingly discussed within the film itself.
My only real critique--because by and large, this movie is successful within its modest genre--is the highly unnecessary and incredibly embarrassing lesbian subplot. The lesbian character is the least nuanced in the movie, but according to Annie every character played by Maggie Grace is that annoying, so we concluded that it must be the actress's fault that her character is so irritating and unsympathetic. I just get unreasonably angry about Gratuitous Lesbian Subplots. It really didn't need to be in the movie, and only made Annie and I squirm and roll our eyes, and not in the good way that the rest of the movie does.
That said, the movie itself was highly entertaining and engaging, especially for an Austen fan. I have no idea how entertaining it would be for someone who's not a fan, but I imagine it would still bring some pleasure.
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