Text copyright 2014 DVDizzy.com. An adaptation of PD James's homage to Pride and Prejudice. The best breathable face masks for playing sports and... Save up to 55% on Patagonia & The North Face at Backcountry, The 49ers' new on-field hat is a scumbro masterpiece. Box Office Mojo and IMDb are trademarks or registered trademarks of IMDb.com, Inc. or its affiliates. google_ad_type = "text_image"; Launched with such promise on perhaps the most quoted and merchandised independent film of all time, the Hesses' careers have since been in decline so sharp it must make M. Night Shyamalan grateful for the status he's been able to maintain. Sony's Blu-ray offers good picture and sound and a nice handful of substantial extras, but the disc falls short of a recommendation, unless you already like the movie or love the book on which it's based. The pleasures are intermittent but can be located: Jennifer Coolidge, as Jane's travel companion, is funny even when the script isn't, and Feild is a nice stand-in for Colin Firth in the Austen hero department. Images copyright 2013 Sony Pictures Classics, Stage 6 Films, Fickle Fish Pictures, Movie Pictures, Austenland is a 2007 chick lit novel by Shannon Hale, published by Bloomsbury. Six months after starting its insufficient 274-theater, $2.2 million run (well short of the $7.6 M production budget), Austenland finally hits DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, seemingly timed for Valentine's Day blind buying. As a painful outing where a Flight of the Conchords member is the best part, Austenland reminds of Gentlemen Broncos, that messy, little-seen film that temporarily seemed to kill the Mormon couple's career and send them back to the Napoleon Dynamite well for a short-lived animated TV series on Fox. Jobs, which was made with awards in mind, has misfired with a $6.7 million start. Jenna is a pregnant, unhappily married waitress in the deep south. google_ad_format = "336x280_as"; Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. under which this service is provided to you. 97 minutes.). Their comedy tastes are fairly lowbrow, yet the couple clearly doesn't have the commercial instincts to put out something you could count on making Napoleon's $45 million or Nacho Libre's now-miraculous $80 M. The comedy is too stupid to be placed in art houses and yet there is no clear alternative. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Is the division behind so many prestige pictures and foreign films embarrassed to be associated with this? Having accidentally opted for the budget package, she finds herself shuttled off to the servant quarters and assigned an unglamorous new identity. Though she wrote the screenplay with Ms. Hale, whose 2007 novel inspired a 2012 sequel, the results are comparable to the Hesses' original films and not their endearing, overexposed debut. The book, while being different from the film (not so funny, I thought), still provided light entertainment (alas, there was no Jennifer Coolidge). Maybe and perhaps rightfully so. Related Reviews: Please stop looking at Colin Firth’s smoulder and listen to what I’m saying! Hale and Hess are, however, skilled at maintaining relevant pretenses and then pulling them back in consequential succession in a manner that registers strongly as key steps in Jane’s character arc. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? google_color_url = "4A6C39"; Jane is ready to indulge her lifelong appreciation of these early 19th century romance novels with a trip to Austenland, a destination where for a pretty penny, guests get treated to their own Jane Austen experience. and For a brand new Sony film, Austenland looks a tad pale and slightly grainy in the Blu-ray's otherwise clean, satisfying 2.40:1 transfer. Is working from home (literally) a pain in the neck? 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. It follows protagonist Jane Hayes, a graphic designer living in New York City who is secretly obsessed with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, specifically Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation. Though she wrote the screenplay with Ms. Hale, whose 2007 novel inspired a 2012 sequel, the results are comparable to the Hesses' original films and not their endearing, overexposed debut. If it can move Summer forward to the first week in May, perhaps Hollywood can also move Awards Season forward to mid-August. Two others paying participants, including friendly, idiotic American Elizabeth "Charming" (Jennifer Coolidge), have sprung for the works in the Platinum Elite package. Director: Jerusha Hess / Writers: Shannon Hale (novel & screenplay), Jerusha Hess (screenplay) The Muppets Eagle vs. Shark Coming & Going I Give It a Year Four Weddings and a Funeral Young Adult google_color_url = "4A6C39"; Learn how your comment data is processed. The Blu-ray opens with a Blu-ray promo and trailers for In a World..., Inside Llewyn Davis, Blue Jasmine, I'm So Excited!, and, in a fitting bit of cross-promotion I'll assume was reciprocated, Pride and Prejudice: Keepsake Edition. google_color_link = "D11687"; As proprietor Mrs. Wattlesbrook (Jane Seymour) explains it, Austenland engages in complete immersion of the Regency era. I could ask you to step into a third-year English Lit lecture room to hear all about how the Regency-era novelist wrote masterfully witty prose full of acerbic commentary on social habits and mores and penetrating observations on human nature. There are also a few of the smaller releases that were in consideration, including Doctor Who: Story 33: The Moonbase and G.B.F. Austenland Blu-ray Review La Niña is here. All the same items play from the menu's Previews listing. google_ad_channel = "2586331936+6027195307+1351145465"; google_ad_channel = "2586331936+6027195307"; But Emma has a terrible habit: matchmaking. Austenland (2013) PG-13 08/16/2013 (US) Comedy, Romance 1h 37m User Score. Jerusha Hess, as she did in her films with her husband, is fond of and very good at communicating comedic and character detail through cluttered, sight-gag-filled production design; although her production designer James Merifield has a specialty in British period dramas that serves Austenland well in parodically approximating the look of the BBC literary miniseries, Hess squeezes in her preferred aesthetic in the fanciful re-created drawing-room froofery of Jane’s apartment design (shelves with row-upon-row of decorative plates), the flimsy surface-level rusticness of Martin’s faux groundskeeper’s shack (he’s got a modern stereo system in the corner, covered with hay and playing sad-bastard indie rock), and the “backstage” shared relaxation poolside space of the resort’s off-duty actors, a mix of chintzy tropical and English tourist leftover decor, fake-tanned footmen, and a flat-screen TV airing Captain East’s ever-shirtless soaps episodes. Blu-ray Disc Details Made somewhat uncomfortable by the whole charade in a way she didn’t anticipate, Jane becomes close with the seemingly down-to-earth Martin, another actor playing a servant, although Mr. Nobley begins to warm to her as well, setting up the inevitable last-act rom-com choice of lover (not a convention that we can lay entirely at the feet of Jane Austen, mind you). Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Keri Russell: Bedtime Stories Dark Skies Extraordinary Measures Mickey Mouse Club: The Best of Britney, Justin & Christina That's a better than expected run. Obsessed with Pride and Prejudice (1995), a woman travels to a Jane Austen theme park in search for her perfect gentleman. Thirtysomething protagonist Jane Hayes (Russell) loves Jane Austen. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Austenland is a copper package visit, and it feels at times like it could have been platinum. Six months after starting its insufficient 274-theater, $2.2 million run (well short of the $7.6 M production budget), Austenland finally hits DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, seemingly timed for Valentine's Day blind buying. Their discussion is conversational, screen-specific and girly. Hayes' house is a shrine to Austen, Darcy, and Firth, the lattermost present in cardboard standee form. But when she decides to spend her life savings on a Indeed true Austen fanatics and aficionados may see parallels that will elude other viewers, whose familiarity with Austen is not quite so impassioned. All Time | google_ad_client = "pub-9732201945510416"; They gush over men, comment on hiding Russell's pregnancy, and point out little details that amuse them. Justine Browning of USAToday.com says, "Reminds us why Pride and Prejudice is one of the most beloved works of literature." Jerusha celebrated her 23rd birthday days into the Napoleon Dynamite shoot, so she has been making movies virtually her entire adult life, not a typical route for a Kansas native and Brigham Young University alum. The blurb on the front of the Austenland Blu-ray is one of the most unusual critic quotes I've seen used to promote a movie. Keri Russell plays a young woman who, unhappy in love and obsessed with Austen's novels, takes her life savings and goes off to stay at Austenland, a mansion of the Austen era offering an authentic experience of life at that time. Use the HTML below. var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; In typical Sony Pictures Classic fashion, the Blu-ray contains a strong handful of bonus features. First up is an audio commentary by writer/director Jerusha Hess and Twilight author (and fellow Mormon) Stephenie Meyer, one of this film's producers. Russell is not cut out for the broad comedy she's given. There are not a lot of limited release this week and only two of them are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews. Buy Austenland from Amazon.com: Blu-ray / DVD / Instant Video,
