5/11/2008

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

What Would Jane Do?

When Sylvia's (Amy Brenneman) marriage breaks apart, her friends Jocelyn (Maria Bello) and Bernadette (Kathy Baker) organize a Jane Austen book club to distract her. Sylvia's young adult daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace) joins as do two strangers: Prudie (Emily Blunt) who is feed up with her selfish husband and contemplating an affair with one of her high school students (Kevin Zegers) and Grigg (Hugh Dancy), who is smitten with Jocelyn.

Each member is assigned a book they will all read and discuss at their montly meetings and in so doing, each members' foibles are exposed in Jane Austen's six novels.

Prudie's hippie mother, Mama Sky (Lynn Redgrave) and husband Dean (Marc Blucas), and Sylvia's philandering husband Daniel (Jimmy Smits) weave throughout the film.

One doesn't need to know the Jane Austen novels to appreciate this fine ensemble film -- but it might inspire some to read them.

Screenplay and directed by Robin Swicord; based on a novel by Karen Joy Fowler.

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, brief strong language and some drug use.

My personal rating: B

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