Pride and Prejudice

One of the great things about having librarian friends is that you'll never have to look far to find others who want to see the latest movie based on a Jane Austen book. Actually, it's just great to know people who've actually read a Jane Austen book and won't look at you like you're a dork when you talk about the characters as if you know them. Not that I do that. OK, I do. That's 10 nerd points for me!

Hey, Jane Austen's characters have helped me through some trying times. I got to know several of them during the stifling summer of my 20th year, when I was living in an unairconditioned dorm room in exchange for cleaning up after annoying summer students and working at Spencer's in the mall for minimum wage. Yes, Spencer's is the store that sells fake poo and edible underwear. Thanks for asking! Needless to say I was poor, bored and in need of some intellectual stimulation. I looked for cheap activities that I could do while laying down in front of a fan or sitting on the subway avoiding masturbators. So I read 53 library books that summer, 4 of them Jane's. I know because I kept a list. Ooh...ten more nerd points.

Flash forward to 2000, (a.k.a. my personal Hell-ennium) when I was severely heartbroken and spent several months huddled in bed, watching a postage stamped sized tv/vcr combo. One day, at Racer Dee's suggestion, I rented the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice. The story itself is entertaining, and it made me happy to see that it was true to the book I loved. But daaaaaamn. Colin Firth as Darcy? Mmmmm. I won't say that he cured my heartbreak, but he certainly inspired me to get out of the house to make new friends. He set me on the road to recovery, if you will. And I think you will. I certainly did... Er, I don't know where I'm going with this euphemism crap so I'll just stop. Let's just say it was a book geek's aphrodisiac. I don't even want to know how many nerd points that is.

I was a little hesitant about the new Pride and Prejudice. No Colin Firth? Hmmm... Well he was a little jowly in the second Bridget Jones movie. Still, who else could play Darcy? But the Librarian Grrlz were interested in seeing it, so we all went together.

Amusingly the audience was TOTALLY female at the show we went to. Chick flick, anyone? The first thing that stood out was Keira Knightley's breathtaking gorgeousness. Elizabeth is supposedly the plainer sister, but not in this movie. Luckily she plays her with a sassy intelligence that really does the character justice. Her comebacks, whether flirty, snarky, or combination of the two, were some of the funniest lines in the movie.

Matthew McFadyen was an almost comically mopey Darcy. You could practically see the gloomy dark cloud following him around. He wasn't as smolderingly cute as Colin was, but as the movie went on, he seemed to get more and more attractive. Clearly the moody, intense thing really gets me. Funny how that is not nearly as sexy in person. More creepy and/or irritating. Anyway, by the time he was professing his love to Lizzy, he totally had me.

Jane Bennett, as played by Rosamund Pike, was perfect in a sweet understated way. And Jena Malone was incredibly annoying as Lydia, the youngest Bennett sister. I wanted to slap her. I wanted to slap her in the book, too, so I guess that's good.

Donald Sutherland's Mr. Bennett came through as a kind and loving father. The scenes between him and Elizabeth were so real and touching. I know I wasn't the only one getting all choked up. I could hear Bamalama and Ray Ray sniffling too.

This movie was a big surprise to me. I loved it! The shy, awkwardness that led to some of the misunderstandings between the characters was gut wrenching at times, and made it easy to root for them. And the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy was played really well. Knightley and McFadyen had amazing chemistry. You could see how her teasing responses to his grouchy demeanor caught him off guard and made her stand out from the pack, which started the slow building passion between them. Every subsequent interaction added more fuel to the fire. Wow. It was hot!

So if you're looking for another book geek's aphrodisiac, I can highly recommend this movie. Five librarians came out of it dazed and fanning themselves. I can't think of a higher endorsement. See it!

-Gigi 01.02.06