THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB

REVIEWED BY RISSI C.

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, homosexuality

Rated:

Being a Jane Austen enthusiast, I was divided on seeing this film due to some of its themes. After much consideration and research my mom and I sat down to watch this and decided the filmmakers did a superb job of bringing all of Austen’s novels together but also brought in a decidedly worldly subject that was very disappointing and ruined some of the other upbeat points. 

Six Californians are about to find out how much their lives resemble Jane Austen’s fictional characters. Jocelyn (Maria Bello) has been a dog lover for years which is why she finds it so hard when one of her beloved dogs dies. Her two best friends Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) and Bernadette (Kathy Baker) are there to comfort in her time of sorrow and are what friends should be…true. Soon after Jocelyn’s dog dies, Sylvia is in need of comfort when her husband (Jimmy Smits) of twenty-two years leaves her for someone else. In hopes of raising Sylvia’s spirits, Bernadette decides to form a book club that covers Jane Austen’s six classic novels. While awaiting a film adaptation on one of Austen’s novels, Bernadette happens to meet a young teacher at the theater named Prudie Drummond (Emily Blunt), who is emotionally distraught over marital troubles with husband Dean (Marc Blucas); discovering Prudie to be another lover of Austen, Bernadette invites her to join the club.

Before their club begins, Jocelyn also invites a new member in the form of Grigg Harris (Hugh Dancy), a younger man who is a sci-fi buff, and quite ignorant when it comes to anything Austen, who comes to have a genuine affection for the still single Jocelyn, while Jocelyn thinks of him only to cheer Sylvia up during her painful divorce. Rounding out the six member group is Sylvia’s free-spirited daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace). What follows is ultimately a nice story, but we must wade through distressing things first that mess up the sweetness of some scenes.

Jane Austen is a name that has survived centuries and over generations there have been many new followers of film versions and reading of her novels. It seems though she’s never been more popular than in the last couple of years. What with two biopics having been made, a season on Masterpiece Theatre dedicated to her adaptation of films and many novels written about the author’s life, any Austen fan couldn’t want more. Now we are entering the modern era of Austen aficionado with The Jane Austen Book Club and the upcoming mini series Lost in Austen. All six books are intertwined quite well and you can see similarities in most everyone’s life, from Jocelyn depicted as an Emma character to Sylvia based on quiet Anne Eliot. Other similarities are through passing remarks or actions while Grigg was created as the perfect man and echoes all of Austen’s leading men. During the monthly discussions in which the members all converse about the leading ladies in Austen’s timeless stories, they share opinions about the heroines. There are some conclusions that I don’t feel Austen intended, nor do I personally agree with them. One is that Anne and Captain Wentworth hated one another while; another involves Charlotte Lucas and was quite ludicrous, but most of  the time I found their conversations insightful and amusing, primarily when concerning Grigg. 

Content pushes its PG-13 limit, but isn't worthy of an R-rating either. The main distressing theme is in the form of Sylvia’s daughter, Allegra, who is a lesbian and isn’t shy about it; she’s shown several times with her “significant other." These scenes range from innocent to more provocative (such as when one is in the bathtub while the other is shown sitting on the edge). They have a discussion that has nothing whatsoever to do with the movie and is worthy of being skipped during the minute and a half or so runtime. There are some innuendos that Allegra remarks on, while near the end we see two characters taking one another’s clothes off (when the scene cuts away, she is still clothed and he has his shirt off). Language is another barrier along the way although it’s not as strong as some films; we do hear the f-word along with other profanities. Prudie’s mom is portrayed as a drug addict. During her marital problems Prudie thinks of having an affair with an eighteen year old high school student, even going so far as to make plans to meet at a hotel (it never transpires), ending with Prudie realizing what she already has is a love so true.

While most of the “bedroom scenes” between Allegra and her girlfriends are not overly graphic it really ruins the innocent scenes between the other girl friends in the movie that have the relationship girl pals should have with one another. For more positive aspects, Allegra’s better qualities include really being concerned for her mother and a genuine love for her. The real treat in this is the relationship that develops between Jocelyn and Grigg. Its pure delight to watch unfold and one can’t help but love Dancy’s character. He is superbly portrayed and is my favorite character in the whole film. On other higher points of this film--the acting is really outstanding especially from Dancy and Blunt and there are some truly touching and witty moments. Note the sequence at the beach until the “one year later” scene; it’s exceptionally well done, amusing and poignant. 

When blocking out Allegra’s personal life, I found myself to have really enjoyed this film. However, due to the fact that her story is interweaved, one can’t very well block it completely out. With that in mind, each individual person will have to decide on their own whether this may be worth their time. Most of the main plot points are done with taste and by the end of our runtime we are pleased with the ends to our favorite characters lives. All of them get their Austen happily-ever-after, just as she always intended. For those of you that are ardent Jane Austen fans (as I am) you are probably going to love this film.

If you really are interested in seeing this though, my recommendation would be to try and get a hold of an edited copy as I plan to do, since it will make your viewing experience that much better and won’t taint your view and admiration for the wholesomeness in Austen’s novels. If you don’t want to take the time of digging up an edited copy or don’t have your own capabilities, then we shall all have to await the release of Lost in Austen and hope it’s a better adaptation of a modern Jane Austen tale, not to mention more worthy of viewing with a young admirer of Miss Austen.