Austenland (2013)

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Austenland could have been all that the cast and concept promised, but its many unbelievable plot details wrecked that chance. The main character went from being a proud Austen addict to a wimp putting up with far too much humiliation for not much gain. Keri Russell as Jane the addict pays all of her life's savings for the bargain package at a place in England called Austenland. The loosely 'Regency' activities take place in a building that looks just like Darcy's home in Pride and Prejudice, but there any connection with Jane Austen ends. Jane Seymour is sometimes funny as a harridan; Bret McKenzie seems too convincing as a lover to believably be someone acting as a nefarious schemer; and Jennifer Coolidge is embarrassing. JJ Feild's performance shines as the only real person amidst a crowd of fakes. The only reason to watch this movie is to see what some people think is the value of Jane Austen -- and to be happy that even this sort of nonsense cannot diminish her.

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!

This is a Jane Austen film for a generation of kids who have never heard of Jane Austen. The flood of Jane Austen in-jokes I think we have a right to expect from a movie made around this premise never appears. Maybe a trickle, a drop or two. Idiotic pop culture references, yes (Bee Gees lyrics, hand on my heart), but nothing to cause an old-fashioned English major to glance up from his OED, much less deliver a genteel muffled guffaw. There are many farcical moments, if you enjoy farce. The attempts at rom com (and by the way, I would like to apologize to all Gypsies for that abbreviation) are signaled by ghastly pop songs of the kind you hear in the background of Gray's Anatomy, and soulful piano music. I hate soulful piano music. No, I mean really, it makes my skin crawl. Please rom coms, no more.

Jane Hayes (Keri Russell) is obsessed with her namesake Jane Austen and especially Mr. Darcy. She is alone and spends all her savings to participate in an Austen themed estate. The owner Mrs. Wattlesbrook (Jane Seymour) relegates her to be the dumpy Miss Erstwhile. Miss Charming (Jennifer Coolidge) is her fellow American participant except she doesn't anything about Austen. Mr. Henry Nobley (JJ Feild) is one of the characters and the Darcy type. Martin (Bret McKenzie) is the stable hand and isn't part of the play.Writer/director Jerusha Hess made 'Napoleon Dynamite' with her husband. I'm not familiar with the Shannon Hale novel this is based on. Simply put, I like some of the comedy but the romance is too Austenest. In fact, I didn't care much about the romance or the Hollywood ending. The relationship has no chemistry and never given much of a chance in the movie. The comedy works mainly because of Jennifer Coolidge and the quirky behind-the-scenes jabs at the world of Austen. Whenever the facade falls away, there are usually a few laughs.