Review of Austenland (2013) by Amilcar A — 05 Sep 2013

I took my mom to see Austenland assuming that at worst, she'd be saved from a high dose of explosions, robots and tits. Amazingly, I think I ended up liking it more than she did. Perhaps it's the teen girl inside me or all those years of English literature but I found the romantic comedy amusing and endearing.

Austenland is one of these films where a hottie like Keri Russell is supposed to be a nerd and virginal, always waiting to for prince charming. She's buried in Victorian novels and yearns for the past when men were men and women were - well almost slaves.

The funny twist is that in order to recreate her ideal, she goes to what is essentially an amusement park for obsessive romantics. From here on forward the plot is predictable and risk averse so most people will find the movie underwhelming and forgettable.

While not good by any stretch of the imagination, Austenland earns its price on a weak weekend when there is nothing else to see.