We watched this film a few years ago and I really liked it, so decided to order it again… It’s a quirky tale of a group of friends who are all going through their issues, it starts with a funeral of one of their dogs!!! Then a marriage breakdown, a tearful visit to the cinema, all life is here as they say.
The friends decide to start up a book club but with a twist, they are only to read Jane Austin novels – the clues in the title. Jocelyn (the owner of the dearly departed dog) has a random encounter with a chap called Grigg at a sci fi convention; he for me is the star of the film. , bewildered and keen, bemused by all these women.
It does have shades of ‘How to build an American Quilt’, the closeness of the friends and the history they have shared. It’s a very clever premise of how at times art can mimick life. The situations they find themselves in, they look at through Austin’s books. It’s a kind of like what would Austin have done. My fav bit is when the cute sci fi guy has actually read a book that Jane Austin mentions and also he thinks at the beginning that they are sequels so buys the compendium… hilarious! If you haven’t seen this film then you must, it is a bona fide chick flick and leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling and also, most of all reaching for the book-shelf to devour some Austin!
