Pride and Prejudice: my first movie review

As a huge Jane Austen fan, I own all of her books, and in the case of Pride and Prejudice actually have two copies, I was pleasantly surprised to see there was yet another Austen adaptation in the works. The story of Lizzy and Mr. Darcy has by some accounts been done too many times, but can a girl really ever get enough of it?

Overall the movie was an A for adequate. For those who haven't read the book so many times that it has fallen apart or seen the faithful BBC version, the movie was probably great. But for those of us who appreciate the witticisms of Mr. Bennett the sneaky, flirtatiousness or Mr. Wickham, and supreme silliness of Lydia, the movie was less enjoyable though significantly better than the black-and-white version with Lawrence Olivier.

Some of the things I liked about the movie were:

1. Mr. Bingley though I am sure some will disagree with me. In the book and the BBC movie, he is kind of a well-meaning idiot. But in this movie he was an idiot (actually he refers to himself as an "unadulterated ass") and funny. My favorite part was when he and Darcy were standing by the pond practicing his "will you marry me" speech to Jane. Hysterical!
2. Jane Bennett! They finally found a pretty Jane and one who is prettier than Elizabeth.
3. Mr. Darcy and for this I am sure to incur the wrath of my friends. Yes, Colin Firth is hot. And yes, he played Mr. Darcy twice! and well. But why did he "stare" all the time. He was too broody. This Mr. Darcy is just socially awkward and perhaps a bid haughty. It was easier to empathize with him.

Now on to the many things I disliked...

1. Weird statue. What was up with the weird bust of Darcy at Pemberley. It looked like the eyes were following Lizzy across the room. Creepy.
2. Ugly Colonel Fitzwilliam. The book describes him as "thirty, not handsome, but in person and address most truly the gentleman." I don't care he is supposed to handsome. Make him handsome! not fat with funny hair.
3. Lady Catherine arrives. It seemed rather unrealistic for Lady Catherine to show up at the Bennett household in the middle of the night. Just did not ring true.
4. The pig-sty house. The Bennet's are not rich, this we know. But the book never begins to suggest that their house is in a mud pit shared with pigs (they even do a close up of pig testicles in the movie - weird and gross!). For the Bingley's to even invite them to a ball, the Bennet's must have had a decent enough property.
5. The Orlando Bloom look-alike (a.k.a Mr. Wickham). I enjoy looking at Orlando Bloom as much as the next girl, but he's too pretty to be Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham is supposed to be deliciously handsome (hehe!), but he is also in the army. Yeah. The casting just didn't do so much for me. In addition, Lizzy for a time engages in a deep flirtation with Wickham. This is not even alluded to in the movie. Where was the Lizzy-Wickham love?
6. Fishy faces. Keira Knightly looked like a fish for most of the movie, especially during the ball scenes. Part of it may have been the make-up, but she kept sucking in her checks and pouting her lips. It was very distracting.
7. Wardrobe Malfunctions. With one or two exceptions, Lizzy wandered around in what looked like dyed burlap sacks. When invited to dine with Lady Catherine, Charlotte told her to simply wear the best outfit she had. So lo and behold, Lizzy shows up in a green burlap sack. No wonder, Lady Catherine was so dismissive.
8. Proposal in the rain. I was so not a fan of the proposal in the rain sequence. Where did the rain come from, why was Lizzie running in the rain, where did the pavilion come from, how did Mr. Darcy know where she was (stalker much?)? Too many questions which led to an altogether ripped out of cheesy romance novel scene. Austen deserves better.
9. I can't sleep. So now Austen has been reduced to scenes where the protagonists are running around in open fields in their nightdress and coincidentally happen to meet each other. This scene was not in the book! This scene was stupid. Read point #8.
10. Because there always has to be a 10. Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy. What about this scene wasn't painful and cringe worthy?

So what did you think?