Okay, so I am in my early 30s and still melt completely at cutsie, sweet "fairy tales." When it comes to love stories, I am a firm believer in hand-holding, face-caressing, hair-sweeping-behind-the-earring, soft-kissing, fun flirting, sincere-complimenting, etc. Ending with a wedding is just icing on the cake (mmmm...wedding cake*-the best). In actuality, most rom-coms include a sex scene at some point. Honestly, I could do without that. If it must be included, then I want the Greek Drama version. You know, where they just close the bedroom door and cut to the next day with some sort of breakfast together or something. I'm a grown woman. I am well aware what is happening behind that closed door. There is no logical reason I need to SEE the sex happen. Plus, I really don't want to. Part of it is because I believe sex is something very intimate between two people who love each other on a soulful level. (Go ahead and judge, but before you make an ugly comment look at the name of my blog.) If I am watching the act, I feel like I have intruded on something and ruined the sincerity of the emotion.
All of that pertains to books as well. Which is probably why I flock to Jane Austen and avoid things that are 50 shades of bad writing. I get that there isn't a lot of physical contact in Austen's novels, but I know the characters really, REALLY want to. That's part of the romance as well- a male character loves someone so much that he has to wrestle with propriety and carefully verbalize sentiment (not always in the best way) when really he just wants to grab the girl around the waist, pull her to him, and kiss her into the next time period.
All that being said, I saw this a few months ago:
I've loved Keri Russell since her MMC days.
I love Bret McKenzie because he's half of a fantastic musical comedy duo: Flight of the Conchords.
I've loved JJ Feild since he looked like this in a favorite movie of mine called Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story. (Yes, even with that hairstyle and dubious nature, I still formed a crush on the original Jack Robinson.)
Obviously, I was meant to see Austenland which of course meant I needed to read the book first. The book was such a perfect summertime quick read! I simply couldn't put it down. Hale wrote the type of love story that causes me to squeal inside. The writing is incredibly entertaining. When one of the male contenders for Jane's affections asks why she is into the whole Pride and Prejudice thing, she answers: "'If you were a woman, all I'd have to say is 'Colin Firth in a wet shirt' and you'd say 'Ah.'”
The characters are also so captivating! I will admit I routed for Nobley the entire course of the novel even though Martin was more realistic. While the movie does a good job of making both characters likable, I think it cheats Mr. Nobley some of what made him so splendid in the book. For instance, Nobley discovers Jane's passion for painting and has supplies anonymously delivered to her room. I wish they had left that in the movie. Then there is a fantastic connection between something Jane's best friend tells her at the beginning of the story and Nobley's profession of love for Jane at the end. (That should have been in the movie too, but alas, I suppose there is only so much they can do in an hour and a half.)
The book is full of those tender moments that I believe to be part of true romance. The best part is that Jane has TWO men offering these moments, so she (and the reader) have to decide who means it and who is acting. It is an appropriate homage to Austen because the main character, Jane, finally makes the realization that while we may sigh over a fantasy we would much prefer the reality. You know, that whole woman empowerment/independent type thing. (Of course, Jane still gets her "Mr. Darcy," but AFTER she chooses reality so it is win-win!)
I'm a sucker for a girlie love story. And I'm a sucker for this face:
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| What can I say? I pick winners! |
*Apparently, bakeries are movie away from the traditional flavor of wedding cake because it dries out too quickly. WTH?! Although, my friend had a lemon flavored wedding cake because her color was yellow, and it was super delicious.
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