A fabulously written/directed film by Robin “Memoirs of a Geisha” Swicord. Jocelyn (Maria Bello) is a single woman who lives for her just dead dog. Prudie (Emily Blunt) is a sexually frustrated high school French teacher whose husband, a real jock, has cancelled their trip to Paris to attend the NBA playoffs. Imagine a French teacher whose never been to France? Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) has just learned that her husband of twenty years (Jimmy Smits) is having an affair with an age approriate woman so it must be love, and Bernadette (Kathy Baker) is the mother-earth of the group in search of yet another husband. She’s had about seven. Bello is the woman who most shines in this film – finding her special niche in this easy-going role of thirty-something woman. It’s a step in the right direction for an actress who never quite took off after portraying bully, bartending, choices like the one in “Coyote Ugly” which managed to derail her career What the women in this film all want is companionship and connection, so they form a book club, reading all the Austen novels from “Emma” to “Mansfield Park” before realizing their own lives resemble the 21st century writer’s characters. By the time a year goes by and they get through all six novels, love dies, love blooms and in some cases, rekindles. Each character sees Jane Austen for what they need her to be. And it all comes down to one simple equation: What would Jane do? In the meantime, I can tell you what to do. Take your mother or sister to see this. Not your husband. It’s the chick flick of the year. Three tiaras
