Austenland

Disclosure: I really like "Pride & Prejudice" & usually end up enjoying romantic comedies a ton, despite never wanting to see them ahead of time.

That said, I went in to this one thinking it sounded good and was laughing hard throughout. The story is clever, the acting solid, casting is great and I walked out a huge fan of Jennifer Coolige. omg seriously, can you get any funnier? Worth seeing the movie for her alone. Without her it was still really good. Go see this movie. We even went back and saw it again - I wasn't laughing as much the second time, but appreciated it and enjoyed it again still.

Nothing high art or dramatic to be seen here .... which is a good thing!

This flick is a simple romantic comedy set in a Jane Austen theme park with paid actors to play roles from Austen novels. Our main character, Jane Hayes, blows her bank account to fulfill her love of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice novel by staying at the theme park hoping to find her love. That's the story all wrapped with some funny light hearted characters and situations.

But pay attention! You just might be fooled! The ending opens a new light for her and the viewer. I enjoyed the movie greatly because it's simple and fun!

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.

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!

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.