The story follows Jane Hayes, a woman OBSESSED TO THE EXTREME with Jane Austen and particularly, Mr. Darcy. She empties her bank account to attend Austenland, a place where fans of Jane Austen can go to be whisked away into the period life Jane lived in. Jane Hayes befriends another American named Elizabeth Charming who has no idea who in the world Jane Austen actually is. Then there are the two hot studs--Henry Nobley and Martin. While Martin seems to be totally into Jane, Henry seems to find the entire experience incredibly annoying. Add to the mix Amelia Heartwright, a young British girl with more quirks than Charming, and Captain East who will find any excuse to rip off his shirt and show off his six pack abs. And of course, there's Mrs. Wattlesbrook, the woman in charge and who seems to have it out for Jane and Colonel Andrews who acts as ridiculous as Charming. Austenland is seriously one of the best movies to get together with all your girlfriends, a tea set, some tasty desserts and have a night full of roll-on-the-floor-from-laughter, fun time!
TOP TEN REASONS YOU SHOULD WATCH
10. Fan of Jane Austen--If you are a fan of Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy and the other remakes that have been done in the past (particularly the one with Colin Firth *swoon*) then you will DEFINITELY love watching Austenland! The movie leans more toward humor than romantic and everything is grand and over the top but it just makes the movie that much more entertaining.
9. England--England as a backdrop is GORGEOUS. The landscapes and the big house everyone stays in is beautiful! It'll make you want to take a trip out there yourself!
8. The Costumes & Decor & Hairstyles--The costumes are really well-crafted and every scene is set up really well. The dresses range from outlandish to I-would-totes-wear-that-one! I really liked the outfit Jane had on when she was on the horse. It's a small brown jacket with buttons out of the front and a bow (if I'm remembering correctly) with a dress in white and brown stripes. Jennifer Coolidge's character, Elizabeth Charming, had a great fuchsia-colored dress in the Aphrodite number she played with long, red tresses. It was awesome! Jane's hair was spot on Kiera Knightly from her remake of Pride & Prejudice.
7. Script--There are SO MANY pieces of dialogue or one-liners that will have you roaring with laughter! The facial expressions each actor attaches to how they deliver the lines is what will really do you in, especially when it came to J.J. Feild who plays Henry Nobley. I LOVED the looks he would give!! Every conversation flowed nicely and every transition from scene to scene was nicely done. The humor and romance was really well-balanced.
6. Kerri Russell Singing Hot In Here--There's this SPECTACULAR scene where Kerri Russell's character, Jane, is forced to play the piano by Mrs. Wattlesbrook. Jane only knows how to play one song, Hot In Here by Nelly. She starts off really reluctant and sort of embarrassed then starts getting all into the song and really going at it. It was one of the BEST scenes in the movie!
5. Mr. Nobley Ripping Jane's Dress--Yes, you read that correctly and no, it's not what you're thinking! Get your mind out of the gutter! There's a lovely scene where Jane gets stuck walking back in the rain (very much Kiera Knightly in Pride & Prejudice) and Mr. Nobley comes riding up on his horse to help her. He lifts Jane to put her on the horse and tells her she has to straddle the horse if they're going to out run the rain with both of them on the horse. But Jane can't straddle the horse because the dress she's wearing would let her. So Mr. Nobley does the only thing he can: he rips her dress then jumps on the back of the horse, wraps his arms around her and rides off. *swoon*
4. The Soundtrack--The 80's theme music throughout the movie was soooooo goooood!! I was totes jamming along with the movie *hehe* The music fit perfectly with every scene and added to the mood and tone of the story. So MUST buy the soundtrack!
3. The Cast--Kerri Russell as Jane, J.J. Feild as Mr. Nobley, Bret McKenzie as Martin, James Callis as Colonel Andrews, Ricky Whittle as Captain East, and Jane Seymour as Mrs. Wattlesbrook were all WONDERFUL! They each fit the character they played SO WELL and each of them was so VERY entertaining to watch! Seriously, one of the best cast put together for an adaption for a book that I've seen so far.
2. Jennifer Coolidge & Georgia King--These two were so good they deserve their own spot! They were both SO OUT OF CONTROL throughout the movie! I had to pause the movie just to get through how hard my fits of laughter would be!! The part where Jennier Coolidge wakes up and tells Georgia King's character to shut her hole was so dang funny and the scene where she accidently shoots King's character in the eye with an arrow *Ahahahaha!* The both of them had such great comedic timing and were just so off the charts. All their scenes were amazeballs!
1. The Ending--I LOVE THE ENDING SO HARD TO AUSTENLAND!! For a crazy comedy where the romantic entanglements are just as crazy, the ending was perfectly done!! *dreamy sigh*
TOP TEN FAVORITE QUOTES
“Now, this is
Barnaby. He enjoys nightly dips in the pond and has a pony named
Sparkles-Pancakes . . . I also heard that people in those days didn’t hear
underwear.” ~Travel Agent that helps Kerri Russell’s character plan her Jane
Austenland experience
“Society demands that we engage in social
intercourse in order to seem courteous yet in
most cases such actions are ultimately vulgar.” ~J.J. Feild/Mr. Henry
Nobley
“Do you really
believe Mr. Nobly that you can know the worth of a person at a glance?’ (Jane/Kerri
Russell)
‘Can you tell me
in the first few moments of meeting each person in this room you didn’t form
firm opinions of their characters?’ (Mr. Henry Nobley)
‘Well, it’d be a shame if
my first impression of you proved correct.” (Jane)
“Where are you
going?’ (Mr. Nobley)
*Jane screams
and does a karate move* ‘Oh! Sorry! I didn’t know I became a ninja when
startled in a strange place. My father, if he were alive, would die of shame.’
(Jane)
‘And here I was
thinking that any father would be delighted to have a ninja as a daughter.’”
(Mr. Nobley)
“Perhaps I just
can’t find the conversation of women stimulating.’ (Mr. Nobley)
‘Oh, I can’t
imagine why you’re still single.’ (Jane)
‘I don’t see a
ring on your finger.’ (Mr. Nobely)
‘I am single
because apparently the only good men are fictional.’” (Jane)
“You don’t annoy
me . . . You make me nervous.” Mr. Nobley to Jane
“It is curious
that there are more of me than anyone else.’ (Mr. Nobley/looking through Jane’s
sketch book)
‘I guess I’ve
been trying to figure you out without much luck.’ (Jane)
‘So have you
come to some conclusions?’ (Mr. Nobley)
‘You’re the
resident Mr. Darcy, come on, you’re every girl’s fantasy.’ (Jane)
‘So I’m your
fantasy?’ (Mr. Nobley)
‘You play your
character very well.’” (Jane)
“I know you’re
opinion of me was horrible. I was horrible. I was nervous. I felt out of place
and I certainly did not intend on falling in love but I have. I can’t imagine
leaving this place without you. Please, tell me if I have any hope.’ (Mr.
Nobley)
‘Oh, I didn’t
realize this is how I would feel at this part . . .’ (Jane)
‘Feel what?’
(Mr. Nobley)
‘You were right,
this is a dangerous kind of game . . . I don’t want to play anymore.’ (Jane)
‘What do you
want?’ (Mr. Nobley)
‘I want something
real.’” (Jane)
“You’re just
jealous aren’t you? Because my aunt would rather bring in a complete novice
than move some kiwi actor up to the big house.’ (Mr. Nobley to Martin)
‘You’re not
British either?’ (Jane to Martin)
‘I’m part of the
commonwealth.’ (Martin)
‘You couldn’t
even get a part in the Hobbit.’ (Mr. Nobley)
‘That’s it, Shakespeare!’”
(Martin proceeds to jump on Mr. Nobley and that wrestle around on the floor)
“Hey, um, I’m
not going to report your aunt so it was a little over kill to send you all the
way here.’ (Jane)
‘She didn’t send
me.’ (Henry)
‘Mr. Nobley, or
whoever you actually are—”
‘My name is
Nobley. It’s Henry Nobley. I’m a history professor.’
‘Oh . . . that’s
really nice . . .'
‘I use to think
that my aunt’s profession was somewhat grotesque but the truth is I enjoyed
stepping into history; the idea of a simpler world where love is straight
forward and lasting. I believe we have that in common . . . But all of this is
secondary to the fact that I am completely mad about you.’
‘Alright, well,
you may have been mad about Ms. Ernestwhile, but you don’t even know me—”
‘You are Ms.
Ernestwhile. I saw you in the theatrical and you were horrifying.’
‘Whoa! Wait a
minute! You were horrifying, I was . . . I wasn’t great—’
‘My point
exactly. Neither one of us is capable of pretending.’
‘Nobley, I just don’t
think—”
‘The night of
the ball you said you wanted something real. I’d like to believe that I am
real. Is it possible that someone like me could make you happy? Would you let
me try?’
*leans in to
kiss him then stops* ‘No! People don’t do this . . . This is my fantasy . . .’
‘Have you
stopped to consider that you might have this all backwards? Jane, you are my fantasy.’”
TOP TEN JENNIFER COOLIDGE/ELIZABETH CHARMING QUOTES
“Think of all
the people in the world who hang themselves? Then the next day they feel
different. But there’s nothing they can do about it.”
“You’re in the
servants wing. You’re in the creepy tower. God, sometimes I think about you
here at night; must be really scary.”
“Hey, is this
the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car?”
“Do you think
those are their real faces?” ~Ms. Charming/Jennifer Coolridge asks of the maids
who greet them at the door since they all look unhappy
“Ladies and
gents, please take notice, I just got the schedule and look it says we get to
go hunting on horseback! Can you believe it? Real horses and real guns. Release
the hounds! Tally-ho! A hunting we will go! The British are coming! The British
are coming!”
“Colonel, you
really are a saucy monkey.”
“That’s because,
late at night when I’m all alone, I put my face in the fire.”
“Mr. Darcy said
to Jane, ‘Jane! Listen! Listen right now! If you were to sleep with me tonight,
I would actually speak to you the next day unlike any man that you would meet a
hundred years from now.” (Doing her own retelling of Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy)
“Please, please,
shut your hole!”
“Get on with the
game you old windbag!”
“I didn’t think
I was touching you inappropriately.”
Synopsis: Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
ABOUT THE BOOK
Austenland
Author: Shannon Hale
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Purchase on Barnes & Noble and Amazon!
Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?
Funnily enough, the actor who plays Martin is Figwit/Lindir in LOTR and the hobbit. Lovely review!
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