The Jane Austen Book Club: Review By Brokaw

"All Jane Austen all the time" is what the characters in this movie feel is "the perfect anecdote to life."

This charming film focuses on five women and one man who are at various stages in their lives. First there's Jocelyn (Maria Bello) who has never been married and finds her dogs are the best company she can imagine. Then there's Bernadette (Kathy Baker) who has been married several times and is contemplating finding a sixth husband. Prudie (Emily Blunt), a high school French teacher, has an unsatisfying marriage to Dean (Marc Blucas) and has her eye on one of her students. Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) thinks she has the perfect life until her husband Daniel (Jimmy Smits) tells her he has been having an affair with a woman in his office and he wants a divorce to be with her. Their daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace) is a lesbian who falls in love at the blink of an eye and enjoys dangerous physical challenges like skydiving and rock climbing. And Grigg (Hugh Dancy), a technical wiz who made a lot of money on a dot com company, is looking for something deeper in his life. All of them come together to form the Jane Austen Book Club, in part to share their love for the author (except for Grigg who is just learning about her), and in part to share their lives.

Audiences do not have to be familiar with the novelist to enjoy this film. It's more about the movie characters than it is about the novels. They get together every month to discuss one of the six Austen novels and find their lives sometimes mirror what they are discussing. And, in a humorous way, oftentimes their discussions blur the line between the novel plots and what is happening to them at the time. It's ingenious how the screenwriter merges the characters lives and their innuendoes and insinuations about their lives and loves with the plots and characters in the novels.

The six members of the club become closer through the months. Although Jocelyn, Bernadette, Sylvia and Allegra have been friends for years, their new friends Grigg and Prudie end up being just as important in the club and by the end they are almost inseparable. Through Jane Austen they have formed a solid alliance and a friendship that can stand the test of time and all that life throws at them.

This is a delightful story and has renewed my desire to revisit Jane Austen and her stories of life, love, and romance. While Jane Austen and her characters are only the impetus for the movie, the film characters are what audiences will enjoy and remember. So, even if you have never read a Jane Austen novel, don't let that stop you from going to this movie. The cast is wonderful. You'll enjoy these characters and get involved with their lives, loves, desires, prides, prejudices, senses and sensibilities.