The Jane Austen Book Club
MPAA - PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, brief strong language and some drug use.
Sex/Nudity 6 out of 10 – One girl is a Lesbian and has two lovers through the course of a film, she is seen sleeping in bed with them, and there is a scene where one girl is in a bath tub, covered in bubbles, while the other girl is sitting on the edge of the tub, fully clothed talking to her. There are references to sex throughout the film mentioning who was sleeping with who in different Jane Austen books. At the end of the film many different couples are seen making out implying that they are getting ready for sex. There is no nudity, and no crude or irreverent references to sex.
Language – English and some French…just kidding. There is one use of the F-word, and about 10 other obscenities including religious exclamations.
Violence – NONE
3 out of 5 stars… or 7.5 out of 10. A well made film with a good balance of drama and comedy.
If you enjoyed this film then check out Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, and Persuasion. Actually if you haven’t seen or read any Jane Austen’s books/movie adaptation you probably will not understand parts of the film, so watch those first. Then check out About a Boy or Notting Hill, or One Fine Day, all great comedy/dramas about real people.
Friday night, spent the day at school and work. Heather, my wife, spent the day all cooped up in the apartment. We just watched Gladiator yesterday and so we try a chick flick. The IMDB gave it 7 out of 10, so it has got to be decent. We pop it in the DVD player and I am hooked. This movie is hilarious. It is kind of a romantic comedy but mostly a dramatic comedy about a group of women (and one guy) who start a book club for reading Jane Austen books (mean while their lives parallel some of the books they are reading). As men we are not supposed to like these kinds of movies, but I believe any man can at least appreciate a well scripted and well acted film.
What was brilliant about The Jane Austen Book Club was that they had a guy join in the book club. So while these women are all having problems and talking girl talk there is still a guy there for the male viewers to relate to. In fact even the macho guys in the book who are side characters start reading some of Austen’s books and get hooked. When the movie was finished I felt like digging in to some Jane Austen.
I would not recommend this movie for young viewers, the content is just not appropriate, and there is nothing for kids and young teenagers. This movie is made for married adults who kind of have an understanding of relationships and enjoy comedies and dramas about relationships. It is also way helpful to the viewer if the viewer has read some of Austen’s books, or at least seen the movies. If not then some of the dialogue and plot elements just won’t make sense.
To sum it all up (because my wife said that my Gladiator review was far too long and no one is going to read it) the Jane Austen Book Club is a great date night film to sit down with your wife and laugh together. The script is excellently written, the plot moves quickly, the actors are fun to watch, and in general it is just a well done movie.
I really enjoyed this movie. I was actually the one who got this man (Mikal) to watch it in the first place, which is kinda cool. I love Jane Austen, so to be able to watch a movie that incorporates all of her amazing work is absolutely fantastic in my book. I love how each of the characters in the movie has a significant role and can somehow be related back to one of Jane Austen's main characters from her books. It's quite ingenious.
ReplyDelete