Book to Movie Friday: Jane Austen Book Club
Submitted by Book Nut
I was looking for something light and fluffy the other night, and I lit upon this one searching in the Netflix instant play (can I tell you how much I love Netflix? I LOVE Netflix. A whole lot.). I remembered liking the book well enough, and I figured that while the movie wouldn’t be great, it might be enjoyable in a shallow, mindless, fluffy way. So I gave it a shot.
Afterward, when I checked my review, I was surprised how much the movie kept of the book, at least superficially. I don’t remember if the specifics were the same, or even if the arc of the story was the same (I think the book covered a longer time span then the movie did and maybe events were mix-mashed), but honestly, I don’t think it mattered. The plot was still mostly non-existent: the movie (like the book) just being an excuse for people (some screwed up, some more or less together) to sit around discussing, and possibly learning from (and learning to like), Jane Austen’s books. Which is not something I can argue with. I liked it.
I liked Hugh Dancy as the computer/sci-fi geek the best. The women were mostly stereotypes (the eccentric, the divorced woman, the gay younger woman, the control freak, and the screwed up one), but he was refreshing in the midst of all that estrogen. As time went on, and he learned more about Austen (when he first started he thought they were all sequels, which cracked me up), he actually had some refreshing insights (or at least the screenwriters gave him some) into Austen’s work. Which makes me wonder what Hubby would think about them, if he ever got around to reading them.
Verdict: probably as good as the book. Maybe better because it has Hugh Dancy in it. 
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