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The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) DVD Review
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) DVD Credits:
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Directed by:
Robin Swicord
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Written by:
Robin Swicord
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Cast:
Maria Bello, Jimmy Smits, Emily Blunt, Kevin Zegers, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Amy Brenneman, Lynn Redgrave, Kathy Baker, Marc Blucas
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) DVD Release Date:
5th February 2008
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The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Synopsis:

The story centers on six Californians who join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they meet, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) DVD Review:

It may have been a great idea releasing the latest BBC adaptation of Persuasion on DVD on the same day as The Jane Austen Book Club, a film about a group of romance-distraught woman and a single man getting together to read every Jane Austen film, although I’m not sure it was good for the latter film. I decided to watch and review the Persuasion television film before The Jane Austen Book Club, and found myself enjoying it much more than I had anticipated. Problem arose when the DVD which had been knocked around in shipment wouldn’t play anymore. It would reach the climactic romantic moment and refused to continue, so I decided to watch the J.A. Book Club instead. As I watched the women discuss Jane Austen’s simple romantic tales in-between the melodrama and extreme situations in their lives, all I wanted to do was finishing watching Persuasion. I was even considering re-watching everything up to the ending rather than finish J.A. Book Club.

Even as I review this DVD it follows my review of Persuasion, and as unfortunate as that might be due to circumstances and luck, it brings out a glaring flaw in the new romance trying to rely on a name linked to romance for a very long time. There is just no way that there is any way to fill shoes that big, but it is surprising how often The Jane Austen Book Club relies on clichés and one-dimension and poorly constructed characters. This isn’t to say that the novel gave the same impression, but the film certainly feels stifled by all of the expected twists and turns, with all sorts of women stereotypes included. The five women come from all different backstories of love and disappointment, more than a few of which involved in a failing marriage (Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman). One is a lesbian and another is impulsively getting married at every chance.

Mario Bello plays the leading romantic narrative as the woman who brings an attractive young man to the book club in order for there to be enough people for each of Jane Austen’s classic six novels. Her intentions are to offer him as a fling for her recently separated friend, but it is soon obvious that he only has eyes for her. This odd collection of women and one man does inspire some comedy as well as a little romance, but there often are too much unnecessary sub-plots to allow any one story to flourish. The DVD contains a cast and crew commentary which is occasionally as chaotic as the film’s romances. There is also a featurette about the life of the famed author, Jane Austen, and a behind-the scenes featurette. Footage from the Los Angeles premiere is less important.

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The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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