Austenland

I only heard of this movie because of a trailer on another Netflix rental. From the get-go I appreciated that the background story of the heroine isn't drawn out. Instead, you get the gist and are immediately thrown into this wacky, modern spin-off of Jane Austen novels. This movie perfectly walks the line of romantic comedy and random humor that really made it enjoyable. The lovable "plain Jane" is likable and you really aren't 100% sure who her real "Mr. Darcy" is until the very end. I watched this with my fiancé who laughed just as much as I over the off-the-wall acting, random fake birds, and unexpected piano renditions.

If you love a slightly cheesy romantic comedy with British literature romance references thrown in, you'll enjoy this and so should your boyfriend...just tell him Stifler's Mom is in it!

Austenland is a 2013 comedy romance film. Jane, obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, can't seem to find her perfect gentlemen. Mr. Darcy just makes every man who comes into her life seem trivial and boring. Running out of hope, Jane travels to a Jane Austen themed amusement park, hoping to find her perfect gentleman.

I cannot say why I enjoyed this so much. There was just something about it that was just so over the top and hilarious, that I couldn't help but laugh and find it funny. The acting was well done, but still over the top, but I'm definitely looking at Keri Russell as an actress to look more at in the future. I was very surprised by her acting skills, even though over the top, she did it well and brought utter life to the character of Jane, and it was absolutely brilliant.

I didn't think too much of the rest of the film past Russell's performance. The humour and romance wasn't quite my type or to my enjoyment, but as I said, because it was so over the top, I couldn't help but laugh.

However, it's rare that a film does over the top well, and I think Austenland is a perfect example of what can happen when a director gets that right. The actors all worked together, and everything just became perfect for this film in particular. I don't think another rom-com could have pulled it off as well as Austenland did.

This is a really good feel good film and I would recommend it to those who love a good rom-com. Although not my style, I could definitely see myself watching this again during a break up or a similar toned part of my life.

I loved this film from the very start. It has an amazing sarcastic tone and is chalk full of Austen references. The over-dramatic nature of the setting and dialogue makes for a satirical manner which is very similar to Austen's original novels. The characters are all well developed and presented in a relatable way which makes it even more interesting. Miss Charming, for example, is absolutely ridiculous in her performance and each line just adds to her character. Jane Hayes, played by Keri Russell, is a really great lead in this film and gives an honest performance which helps the viewer sympathize with her. This film is based on a novel and there are several discrepancies between the novel and film, but if you love the book as much as I do, you will adore the film for it's own quirky style. For fun- look for the hidden peacock. He's hidden in a ton of scenes just off to the side.

Who would vacation in the Bahamas when you could live the 1800 life of Pride and Predigest characters? Apparently this Jane Austen fan will spend all her money living the experience straight from Austen's most classic books. From Jerusha Hess, the co- writer of Napoleon Dynamite (or should I say the wife of the director), the film begins with Jane (Keri Russell), a Jane Austen book lover, watching classic romance movies and planning her week-long trip adventure somewhere in the United Kingdom to live the Jane Austen life with handsome gentlemen, romance, and engagements. The only problem is when your fantasies become reality, Jane finds love is not always the same way in the books. This movie seems to aim for the book lovers and those of us who are sick of women who dream of finding their Mr Darcy. The film moves fast and the audience does not get to know Russel's character, except for the fact that she loves Jane Austen books. Still, Hess does an excellent job creating a fun and adventurous comedy for us, not to mention the performance of Jennifer Coolidge is fantastic.

Austenland is a Jane Austen theme park designed for Jane Austen fans to live the life of their favourite heroines. I was really hoping that this was a real place or at least could have been a real place. But for the sake of the delusional fans, it's probably best that this is not real. Jane (Keri Russell) is obsessed with Pride and Prejudice, and in doing something about it, she spends her life savings on a trip to England to Austenland.

What I didn't like about the film was the "theme park" itself. The first part was just a room decorated in tacky figurines with people insulting their customers if they didn't perfectly fit in the 1800s. Others in the theatre laughed, so I suppose that was supposed to be funny. The whole thing just seemed to be designed to make fun of people that were big fans but not "perfect" fans of Jane Austen. Our heroine, who wasn't perfect enough nor rich enough, finally got to experience part of this theme park.

They eventually get to go to an 1800s-styled mansion on a large country lot, exactly as Jane Austen's heroines lived. The theme park experience involves falling in love with a Jane Austen-styled hero – actors hired to play the part. This part works because it was all very funny. Watching Jane try to live the life but being treated like a servant, but no matter what she was determined to make the most of her stay here.

"Austenland" is of course a romantic comedy with Mr. Darcy-type characters all around ready to sweep her off her feet. It was also cleverly done since we know her love story is written for her as part of the theme park experience, Jane knows this but could easily forget it, but we (and Jane) also don't know what exactly was written and what exactly she's creating for herself. For fans of romantic comedies, it's not too hard to guess. But we still enjoy the humour and the romance that takes us there.