The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)

Director:

Robin Swicord

Writers (WGA):

Robin Swicord (screenplay)
Karen Joy Fowler (book)

Release Date:

5 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

You don't have to know the books to be in the club.

Plot:

Six Californians start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships -- both old and new -- begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels.

Plot Keywords:

Skydiving | Jane Austen | Book Club | Affair | Rhodesian Ridgeback

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Maria Bello	...	Jocelyn
Emily Blunt	...	Prudie Drummond
Kathy Baker	...	Bernadette
Amy Brenneman	...	Sylvia Avila
Maggie Grace	...	Allegra Avila
Jimmy Smits	...	Daniel Avila
Ed Brigadier	...	Pastor
Kevin Zegers	...	Trey
Marc Blucas	...	Dean Drummond
Catherine Schreiber	...	Academic Woman
Ned Hosford	...	Waiter
Hugh Dancy	...	Grigg Harris
Messy Stench	...	Girl with Dog Collar
Chris Burket	...	Skydive Instructor
Parisa Fitz-Henley	...	Corinne

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, sexual content, brief strong language and some drug use.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG | Ireland:PG | UK:12A | Germany:o.Al. | South Korea:15 | Singapore:M18 | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Spain:7 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Encino, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mockingbird Pictures

Trivia:

The order of the books are: - February: Emma - March: Mansfield Park - April: Northanger Abbey - May: Pride & Prejudice - June: Sense & Sensibility - July: Persuasion.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Grigg is said to live in Vista del Mar; there is no such place near Sacramento.

Quotes:

Daniel Avila: I was just thinking about something Allegra said at Jocelyn's the other day...so we're talking about how we all need to have connection, you know, conversation, sex, companionship, and Allegra says, "Well, you get all that from Mommy." I have to tell you, it really made me sad.
Sylvia Avila: Aw, baby, she'll find somebody.
Daniel Avila: No, it made me sad for us, because I've been struggling with whether a marriage can sustain all of that over, uh, over 20+ years or if it's just inevitable that after a certain amount of time-- maybe being with somebody else can have a renewing effect...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The 27th Day (1957)

Soundtrack:

New Shoes

Never got into Austen, but the film still read well.

This harmoniously concocted movie features as many 'novel' film making devices as it does Jane Austen novels. Although I have yet to read one Jane Austen novel -feeling like the odd one out during last night's Gala presentation at Cinefest- I very much enjoyed this movie. I think it will serve as a great conversation piece for not only movie goers, but also film and literature classes. However, it is nowhere near the likes of "Shakesphere In Love"... The acting in this film was overall good, but not great. Feist offers a nice track near the end of the movie, which was a nice surprise. Robin Swicord does a wonderful job directing her own screenplay.