Entertaining, but not Jane Austen

Rating: 5/10 (8 December 2005)

One saving grace of any film that takes place two centuries ago is that there's no product placement to annoy me.
Well, this movie was fine. It entertained me and the actors acquitted themselves well. On the other hand, the director seemed to believe that the witty, sharp-edged dialog of the Jane Austen novel needed more of a modern punch, written by second-rate screenwriters. Apparently, we modern folk are incapable of understanding words put down more than 20 years ago.
The film deliberately de-glamorized the era - the country gentry apparently never brushed their hair, kept pigs in their manor houses and wore shabby, sack dresses over their stylishly anorexic figures. Who knew? Nobody said this adaptation needed to be faithful to the book...but at the very least, offer us something original in exchange.
The oddest thing, however, was that tacked-on American ending. My gosh...I thought I was watching the final scene from the movie "Sixteen Candles," that old Molly Ringwald teen classic. In fact, it was so visually similar, I half-expected Lizzie Bennet to thank Darcy for getting her panties back.
Seriously. I'm not kidding!