WWBD?

It turns out the film LOST IN AUSTEN is three hours long--I neglected to notice this. Who knew I was signing up for something of GONE WITH THE WIND and THE LAST EMPEROR proportions? Maybe it was a nod to the length of the 1990s BBC version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE because it's filmed, tongue-in-cheek, in exactly the same locations (Bennets' house, Netherfield Park, Pemberley).

Anyhow, having watched three 1.25-hour installments so far, I stand by my enthusiastic recommendation. We have all loved books so much that the characters take on a life of their own, and Austen's well-rounded ones stand up to exactly this question. What are some of their underlying motivations? How would they behave if circumstances didn't work out so neatly as in the book? Bingley is a wonderful case in point--what happens if there's no loving author around to save him from the weaknesses in his own character? And Lydia--was it really Wickham that made her so naughty, or did she have the potential to trash her life in any case, and he just happened to be handy?

And, for all you lovers of the Colin-Firth-wet-shirt scene, there is a hilarious nod to it.

Can't wait to get the kids in bed tonight and finish this movie off!

Wishful Thinking

Rented a fun movie last night and threw it in while Scott was at Session, in case it was going to be too "girly" for him: LOST IN AUSTEN. Along the lines of Woody Allen's THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO or his hilarious short story THE KUGELMASS EPISODE or even INKHEART, the modern-day heroine finds herself within a fictional work, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, to be specific.

If you can't get enough P & P, this movie's a good way to spend an evening. Will our heroine fall for Elizabeth Bennet's world (not to mention Mr. Darcy) and that world for her, thus screwing up a much-loved book for everyone else? Or can she resist and keep the plot on track?

As "Amanda Price" points out, the Darcy in this movie is no Colin Firth, "but even Colin Firth is no Colin Firth." Which reminds me of the best line from PURPLE ROSE: "I met the perfect man today...he's fictional, but you can't have everything."