Search - Pride & Prejudice (2003) on DVD

Anna G. (downtime) from CROSSVILLE, TN
Reviewed on 8/28/2009...

It's a modedern take on a favorite! A little cheezy, but if you like chick-lit, you'll like it. It's well made for a low budget film, and it has a christian (morman) touch.
One of my favorites!

Another attempt to modernize a Jane Austen novel

Lawrance M. Bernabo | The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota | 02/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If Hollywood can turn Jane Austen's "Emma" into "Clueless," then it is not surprising that they would made "Pride & Prejudice" into "A Latter-Day Comedy," as happens in this 2003 film from director Andrew Black. Once Leonard Bernstein turned "Romeo & Juliet" into "West Side Story" pretty much all things became possible in this regard. But given that Austen's heroine Elizabeth Bennett had to contend with the strictures of social class and the demands of family fidelity, there are some inherent problems in such an effort. The screenplay by Anne K. Black, Jason Faller and Katherine Swigert does this by jettisoning the parents and other adults and deciding to tell the story in Salt Lake City: Suddenly light bulbs come on and the fact this is a "Latter-Day" comedy because the characters are primarily Mormons and Elizabeth Bennett is a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Surprisingly, despite the success of the sterling BBC/A&E production where Collin Firth was the first Darcy I ever saw that made the role work, there has not been a theatrical version of "Pride & Prejudice" since 1940, let alone in a modern setting. So we have the new and improved Elizabeth Bennett (Kam Heskin) who is now both a student and an aspiring novelist. Instead of being saddled with four sisters she now has four housemates, Jane (Lucila Solá) from Argentina, Mary (Rainy Kerwin), Lydia (Kelly Stables), and Kitty (Nicole Hamilton). Elizabeth is snubbed by Fitzwilliam Darcy (Orlando Seale) while Jane is smitten by Charles Bingley (Ben Gourley), whose sister Caroline (Kara Holden) has her eyes set on Darcy. Then there are the new versions of Jack Wickham (Henry Maguire), Charlotte (Carmen Rasmusen), and Collins (Hubbel Palmer).

I was wondering if you could enjoy this version of "Pride & Prejudice" without being familiar with Austen's novel and quickly realized this was a moot point because choice quotations from Austen's work are provide (with cites no less). This film does not want you to forget they are updating Jane Austen and in fact that ends up being necessary for smoothing over the problematic part of the story, which is when Darcy, who is still English, expresses his interesting in dating Elizabeth in a manner and with words so condescending that she cuts him off at the knees and looks like she would want to continue working her way up his body with her sharp instrument of choice. In the English society of Austen's time when arranged marriages were much more the norm, Darcy's approach was at least understandable (and part of the charm of the novel is that the heroine's future mate digs himself one of the biggest holes in Western literature from which to continue wooing a woman). But being English does not seem to allow this Darcy the same liberty to be so insensitive and the problem is that Seale has to reconcile the prejudicial jerk of the first act with the nice guy who emerges by act three (Seale is not alone in facing this problem as Darcy; as I indicated above, only Firth has carried it off as far as I am concerned).

Fortunately Heskin is winsome in the role of Elizabeth and they come up with some cute ways of updating some of the twists and turns in Austen's novel. Therefore it is not surprising that some of the more memorable scenes in the film are those that never appeared in the novel (the aftermath of Elizabeth's refusal of her first offer of marriage is probably my favorite). As for the fact this is a "Mormon" movie, I suppose members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints will be able to point to lots of things that make it such, but I never really noticed anything so I cannot imagine many people are going to be able to find fault with the film on that score. The result is an enjoyable enough family film and there is something to be said for having a "clean" romantic comedy that never tries to sanitize the story or get as zany as what happened with "Clueless." Austen purists will no doubt be offended, but that judgment will be made before the opening credits are done and they still have the BBC/A&E version to watch for the umpteenth time."

A Pleasant Surprise

Brittney Hinson | Ashford, Alabama | 12/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was not really expecting a whole lot based on some of the reviews I had read about this movie. Good thing I went ahead and rented it though, for it turned out to be one of the funniest and sweetest romantic comedies I had ever seen. Even my friend, who really does not like watching movies in general, found it to be a delight. By the time the movie ended, I had decided that it was a "must-own"...yep, that good.

Storyline Snapshot: Elizabeth Bennett's life is filled with attending college, working at the local bookstore, and attempting to perfect her first novel. She has all the companionship she needs from her 4 roommmates Lydia, Kitty, Mary, and Jane...and, of course, Lydia's dog Austen. The last thing Elizabeth needs or wants is a man complicating her life. Then Lizzie's best friend, Jane, meets the man of her dreams. Unfortunately, Jane's boyfriend, Charlie, is best friends with the high and mighty Will Darcy. This means that now Elizabeth has to keep running into the proud Darcy...and every time he seems to want to pick a fight. Sound Familiar? Well, it is. I found the references to Jane Austen's work, Pride and Prejudice, fun to pick out and the rest of the story pretty original and fun. Five stars."

Light and Fluffy entertainment

Bubble Bunny | Indiana, USA | 01/07/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I'm addicted to most things that have a Jane Austen theme so I couldn't resist this movie in the video store. I found it to be a light and clever adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that maintained some of the moral mores of Austen's time (a religious university setting helped this a great deal). However, it is a greatly pared down version that revolves only around the central characters of the original. Gone are nearly all the supporting characters that are some of Austen's most memorable sketches of human folly.

If you take your Austen seriously don't expect this to be a faithful or meaningful adaptation. Look to it as a charming novelty to while away a couple of hours."