The Jane Austen Book Club

Ok, I’ll admit it (don’t tell anyone) my wife and I are not big Jane Austin fans. Neither of us has read her books. But we enjoy the work of many of the actors/actresses in this film and gave it a try - we come away really enjoying our time spent. So much so we grabbed the film for our streaming library when Amazon had a good deal.It’s a nice story of new friends who come together to form a reading club, focused on - of course - the works of Jane Austin. I’m sure you got that from the title, but what plays out is something of a romance that we (assume) follow Ms. Austin’s flare - broken hearts, risk taken, falling in love with the one you never thought you would... all played charmingly well by the likes of Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, and Amy Brenneman. Add in talents such as Jimmy Smits, Kevin Zegers, and Marc Blucas and you’ve got a great cast bringing interesting characters to life. For me, Emily Blunt was a big surprise - I’ve grown into a fan over these last few years, but when I saw her in this film I was surprised - a new direction for her. A little uncomfortable in a way, and intriguing. Admiration complete. Kathy Baker is always fantastic and great to watch. And the other ladies bring on a warm and welcome time with friends.In the end love comes for many, but not all, and we end with a feel good completion - something I appreciate in my entertainment. Jane Austin and friends is a good enough film I knew we’d watch it far more than once... so for future date nights and rainy afternoons we’ve invited over The Jane Austin Book Club.

This is a favorite movie of mine. Watch it when you're in a bad mood and you'll be smiling and feeling just a little bit better about the world by the time it's over. The movie is quiet, subtle, nuanced. No big emotional outbursts, no theatrics. It's a calm study of a group of people who are brought together by a common interest, and the events that spring from that. Not a lot happens, and that's okay. Watching it, you have a sense of spending time with these people, getting to know and understand them. And like them. By the end, characters have grown, lives have changed, and you feel enriched by it.The promotional material leads you to expect that each individual's life begins to mirror that of the character in the Austen book being read. That may be true, but it's very subtle and may easily slip by unnoticed. It's not necessary to have read Austen to enjoy the movie. And if the movie inspires viewers to read Austen, so much the better.The acting here is wonderful. Kathy Baker, in particular, is outstanding, but all of the actors seem pitch perfect.Is it a chick flick? Well, there are no explosions, no fiery infernos, no armed conflicts or space invasions or wars being waged. So I guess the answer is yes. And let's have some more like this one.

I didn't want to watch this movie for the longest time because there are so many movies about Jane Austen's books. One day, I did watch it though, and was glad I did. It's not the story itself, as you know, but rather a book club's meetings about the book. The movie has excellent, well-known actors, and the story line is full of humour and good feelings. Perfect for watching on a rainy afternoon!

Loved this movie. Warm hearted story. A lot of charismatic actors. All were excellent, but Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, and Hugh Dancy especially stood out. Script is intelligent and even inspired. This movie might just be a work of genius. The director, Robin Swicord, who wrote the screenplay based on another author's book, no doubt deserves huge credit. There is something fresh like spring about this movie, like a bunch of new flowers bursting into bloom. There is real joy here.The friendship that develops between Emily Blunt's character and Kathy Baker's character is truly beautiful. The several romantic plot lines in the film satisfy. Hugh Dancy has phenomenal male charisma. The integration of Jane Austen's tales into the plot and the dialogue is brilliantly done.Emily Blunt is great throughout (the great script and story get part of the credit, and no doubt the director, Robin Swicord).There is one scene that I think might have originally been written to be humorous -- but if so, Blunt didn't play it that way -- she played it with intense and moving emotion, which worked perfectly, and then the way Kathy Baker's character responds to Emily Blunt's character at that point -- this is near the start of the film -- is already quite moving, as is the friendship that develops, a sort of ideal mother daughter connection, though Blunt's character and Baker's character are not daughter and mother. I'm accustomed to being moved more toward the end of some films, when, say, a romance or other relationship has developed. But in this film fairly early on we are really moved by what we see. Kudos to Blunt, Baker, and director Swicord. Kudos to all the other actors as well. What a generous-hearted, compassionate, intelligent, loving film.

In these difficult times, anything that makes you feel good is good, and this is very good. Everybody seems to have enough money, some perhaps more than that, but it isn’t splashed around – no fancy cars, no fancy homes, no fancy clothes, no servants bowing and scraping. As for the subject, don’t worry if you haven’t read much Austen. Familiarity with the books will certainly add a dimension, but it’s not necessary, some of the members of the book club haven’t read anything by her either. The best aspect of the film is that each character is distinctive; you get to know each of them and care about each of them, and that’s quite an accomplishment. Highly recommended.

This film is about a group of people but it works especially because of Emily Blunt's peformance as a character called 'Trudy', a quiet, serious American High School teacher of the French language, who has never been to France. The scene in which the character makes a decision about her marriage based on "What would Jane [Austen] do?" is the pivotal moment of the film, altough not in Karen Joy Fowler's book on which the film is based.If you need proof of how good an actress Emily Blunt can be, compare her in this with her brasher English fashion magazine assistant role in  The Devil Wears Prada [DVD] [2006 ]. She looks and sounds so different that I woud not have known it was the same actress without the cast list.If you ONLY ever like films with gun fights or space ships then this is not for you, but nor is it necesary to be a big Jane Austen fan (I'm not, although I have read some of her books).However, committed 'Janeites' will probably gain something extra as the interesting DVD extras say that some characters in the film are meant to be reminiscent of characters in some of 'Jane A's' novels. The DVD extras featurette about Jane Austen's life was also more interesting than I expected.This is a 'Film of a Book of a Book (or several books)' as it is based on a novel by Karen Joy Fowler  The Jane Austen Book Club , which is in turn about a group meeting to read Jane Austen's novels.That leads to a minor criticism. It is strange that in the theatre writers are often as or more famous than actors and directors, but in film and television almost all the fame goes to actors and directors, with writers usually having lower status and little known to the public.Surely, given that this is a film inspired by books, both Karen Joy Fowler's directly ultimately by Jane Austen's, it would have been fair for writers to get their share of the credit this time. But no, although the DVD extras are interesting, and say quite a lot about the director, actors and others asociated with making the film, there is almost nothing about the script writer, nor Karen Joy Fowler on whose novel it was based.For anyone who has seen this film and liked it, two excellent television series on related themes, one Jane Austen based and one book group based, are  Lost In Austen [DVD ] and  The Book Group - the Complete 1st Series [DVD] [2001 ]. However, although great they are more quirky than this film, so to enjoy them do not approach them expecting them to be like 'The Jane Austen Book Club'. The Devil Wears Prada [DVD] [2006The Jane Austen Book ClubLost In Austen [DVDThe Book Group - the Complete 1st Series [DVD] [2001

I had read the book and been disappointed, no one I suppose could say that it was deep in any way and I find that it is harder for me to forgive superficiality in a book than in a film. I think it is because when a movie is light weight, provided the actors know their job well and the scenario is not too stupid, I can still enjoy the performances. It so happened that because the DVD was cheap I decided to give it a chance and I actually enjoyed it. Hugh Dancy was an excellent choice. He is so utterly charming and convincing as Grigg that it would be difficult to find fault with him. I also found there was great chemistry between him and Maria Bello and I utterly believed that the two of them had fallen in love. Emily Blunt did a good job as well, although she is more difficult to like, but it is her character that is at fault and not her acting. All in all I spent a good moment with this film and I certainly can't write I wished I hadn't bought it. in fact I'm rather glad I did!

Arrived early, always a bonus. Really enjoyable DVD, definitely a film you can watch on a regular basis and not get fed up. Great price and condition. Good overall shopping experience. Thank you.

This movie was good a good cast well worth a watch and it arrived earlier than I was expecting it thanks

A film I love, arrived quickly, haven't played it yet but sure it will be fine.