The work of Jane Austen, or more specifically, the romantic urtext Pride and Prejudice still holds a seemingly endless fascination for readers, as well as providing a rich seam for pop culture to mine. The cultural artifacts that have taken their cue from Austen’s work have been interestingly post-modern; a horror cross-over novel (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), the time travel frolic Lost in Austen, and now Austenland, a film based on the novel by Shannon Hale. This directorial debut from Jerusha Hess, away from her husband and working partner Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), takes place within a resort that offers its customers a full Austen experience.
Keri Russell plays Jane Hayes, a lifelong Austen devotee with a serious fixation on Mr. Darcy. Having found her way into her thirties with a serious lack of romance, Jane decides to put her life savings into a trip to Austenland in the hope of finding a little chivalry. When she arrives, everything is as she had hoped, except for the fact that her budget tour package doesn’t entitle her to the luxury afforded to the wealthier guest, Lizzie (Jennifer Coolidge). Still, Jane is determined to make the most of her trip and a dashing servant (Bret McKenzie) soon catches her eye.
It’s an interesting (not to mention extremely plausible) scenario for a romantic comedy and yet the script, co-written by Hess and Hale, is sorely lacking in the humour department. Most of the comedic responsibility is piled onto the usually capable shoulders of Coolidge; but as her schtick is almost entirely based on her attempts to mimic the British accent, her mugging brashness soon becomes tiresome. Though I chuckled a few times, for the most part there are tumbleweeds. Fortunately, the romantic aspect works a lot better thanks to the charm offensive from Russell, McKenzie and JJ Field. Russell and McKenzie are both irresistibly relaxed and playful, while Field does his best Colin Firth impersonation.
It’s a shame this romantic comedy couldn’t have done better on the comedy front – it’s a nice idea, competently executed but as joke after joke falls flat, it becomes an increasingly uncomfortable viewing experience.