The Jane Austen Book Club is based on a book by Karen Joy Fowler that concerns a group of five women who find themselves relating a little too closely to the characters of Jane Austen’s novels. Joined by an eager-to-please male member, the women form a book club to read exclusively the six Jane Austen novels over a period of six months. Each member picks an Austen novel to “host” each month, where they gossip and discuss that month’s novel at length. Seeing as how all six novels have been adapted into a movie or a TV mini-series, maybe it would have been more interesting if they were a Jane Austen Film Club—but then you’ll have a whole different movie altogether.
There’s Jocelyn (Maria Bello), who likes to play matchmaker much like the title character of her chosen book Emma. There’s Sylvia (Amy Brenneman), who’s battling for her husband Daniel’s (Jimmy Smits) affection over a younger woman, like the heroine in Persuasion. Sylvia’s daughter is Allegra (Maggie Grace) is a spunky lesbian who enjoys her adrenaline rush yet always puts her family’s well being as priority—Sense & Sensibility. Bernadette (Kathy Baker) is an upbeat eldest still looking for love after many failed marriages, not unlike the shallow relationships depicted in her book Pride & Prejudice. Then there’s Prudie (Emily Blunt), the snobby high school French teacher who follows Mansfield Park’s plot in developing an illicit affair with one of her students. The male member of the club, Grigg (Hugh Dancy), is a spirited Sci-Fi enthusiast who meets Jocelyn while attending a Buffy the Vampire Slayer convention. He has never read an Austen novel before, but agrees to join the club because he is attracted to Jocelyn. Their relationship mirrors that of Grigg’s chosen book Northanger Abbey.
It’s a kitschy gimmick how the person who chooses a certain book ends up having their life parallel that of the book’s character, though that’s an in-joke that you pick up if you’re familiar with Jane Austen’s work; otherwise it’s by no means interfering. Even during the book club scenes when all they do is sit around sounding off about Jane Austen’s characters, it becomes pretty obvious that they might as well be commenting on each other. Therein lies the conflicted nature of the film. As a rudimentary Jane Austen homage, it doesn’t go far enough; but as its own story, its canvas is divided equally between multiple characters, thus underdeveloped in many areas.
This movie swims happily in how lighthearted it is. Its drama never devastating, its pacing never slow, and its characters never try to harm each other. There are no antagonists, there are no goals, the main action for the characters is to read novels and talk about it. And yet this works as a film? It works, despite how the only cinematic moment in the entire film is the opening montage, which shows various unrelated characters pathetically fumbling with assorted electronic machines; a humorous way to remind us that people are always having a hard time adjusting to their surroundings, be it in modern times or the Victorian age. For her directorial debut, Robin Swicord had made a good choice, showing competence in handling something not terribly daunting or challenging. The Jane Austen Book Club is not an attention grabber, but it settles comfortably in its place as an entertainingly light drama.
At a glance, the film is dangerously close to being a chatty Lifetime feature, but it has enough charm between the six Austen readers to support itself. The snappy humor and the fun performance by the ensemble cast make this one a pleasant watch. There’s a scene in the movie where Grigg tries to convince Jocelyn to read Sci-Fi novels by telling her that he never wanted to read Jane Austen novels before because he thought they were “girly.” When Jocelyn begins to protest that Austen is not girly, Grigg cuts her off by saying, “Which I found out. How can you know something if you don’t try it?” The same can pretty much be said about this film. Middle aged women with romance problems forming a book club? We all know how it sounds, boys, but The Jane Austen Book Club does have a universal appeal; one that might just win you over.
"The Jane Austen Book Club" opens September 21, 2007 and is rated PG. Comedy, Drama. Directed by Robin Swicord. Written by Robin Swicord, Karen Joy Fowler (book). Starring Ellen Burstyn, Emily Blunt, Jimmy Smits, Maria Bello, Kathy Baker.
