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Becoming Jane, Starter for Ten, Date Movie
August 25th, 2007 by Alexandra Heeney
Becoming Jane is a historical romantic tragicomedy that manages to be neither historically accurate, nor romantic, nor tragic, nor funny. But it stars the delightfully devious and too-debonair-for-the-script, James McAvoy. I went into the movie expecting that it had no basis on reality and was going to be silly. Yet I had hoped and assumed the film would at least be cute and romantic. I was wrong. Becoming Jane claims to tell the story of Jane Austen’s (Anne Hathaway) love affair with the supposedly debaucherous, wordly Tom Lefroy (the up-and-coming heart-throb that can actually act, James McAvoy) who apparently inspired her writing; in reality, Jane Austen biographies reveal that Tom Lefroy was an acquaintance of hers for no more than one week so this part of the story, presumably, like everything else, is far from the reality of Austen’s life.
Hathaway’s Jane is supposedly a witty writer and a fan of the ironic. Yet she is incapable of intelligent expression and remains essentially naïve, idealistic, and ignorant. There is no cynicism or embitterment – even after she encounters hardships – that would believably lead to this character being able to produce the clever social satires of the real Jane Austen. She falls for Lefroy, but their love comes as a surprise. They flirt in a manner far too open for the time and with no sign of true affection beyond sexual attraction. Even their supposed banter is sparse and lacks wit. Lefroy insists that Jane requires life experience in order that her writing might equal the panache of a man’s. Apparently life experience is a euphemism for ‘orgasm’ and Lefroy seems to hope he may have the opportunity to oblige. At one point in the film, Jane informs Lefroy that society’s rules prevent her from behaving in any way that might violate her perceived chastity. As the experienced, and probably syphilis-ridden suitor, he behaves with the decorum of a 21st century playboy trapped in a 19th century setting. And Jane waltzes around like a magnificent oaf, unable to either understand her situation in life or decide how to spend it. At all the moments I felt I should feel emotion, I was left only mildly caring about the outcome of the story.
McAvoy is a strong actor and he has some moments of greatness. But in a script that cannot decide what century its characters belong to, it’s impossible to give a performance that does not end up somewhat all over the map. Hathaway is cute but has no wry wit, no signs of the real Jane Austen, but then again, neither does the film, despite its attempt to thread in dialogue from her books and pass them off as scenes from her life. If you want a romantic comedy and you like these actors, rent Starter for Ten or Rory O’Shea Was Here for McAvoy and The Devil Wears Prada or Ella Enchanted for Anne Hathaway. At least those films manage to be funny and romantic rom coms, even if they aren’t fantastic movies. And if you want to see historically inaccurate only kind of true to Jane Austen movies, rent Mansfield Park or Sense and Sensibility. Or go crazy and watch something outstanding: The A&E Pride and Prejudice.
Starter for 10
Starter for 10 is a trashy rom com, much like 1987’s Some Kind of Wonderful but like Some Kind of Wonderful, and unlike Becoming Jane, Starter for 10 is funny and romantic and cute. It is proof that trash is sometimes worth seeing and even enjoyable. Even though the plot meanders and the freshman college student appears to never have to attend class, do readings, write assignments or take finals, it’s cute, light fun with some good eye candy from both the sexes.
Starter for 10 stars James McAvoy, our hero from Becoming Jane, as the awkward intelligent but sometimes idiotic Brian who stupidly falls for the dumb blonde Alice (Alice Eve) who, with his help, undeservingly steals his position on the trivia team. He is, in the words of Betsey Trotwood ‘blind, blind, blind!’, too blind to see the much better alternative: the gorgeous, smart, sassy, embittered, and even attainable Rebecca (Rebecca Epstein). Starter for 10 recycles old clichés about the boy falling for the unattainable girl when the attainable girl is better suited to him and also more attractive – he’s just too self-involved to see it until he has made a fool of himself. The film has nothing particularly new to offer, no romantic insight, and it certainly fails to give an accurate depiction of university life. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. I came out of the cinema ranting about its flaws, unable to wipe the grin of joy from my face bestowed by the film’s undeniable stupid charm.
Date Movie
When I willingly decided to watch Date Movie, a parody in the league of Scary Movie that spoofs date movies, I felt certain I had hit rock bottom. And then the situation grew worse: I was laughing, repeatedly. In fact, I laughed through the entire movie. In my feeble defence, it was midnight, and I was taking a continuous dose of Tylenol 3 to minimise the pain and swelling that resulted from the recent extraction of my wisdom teeth. Nevertheless, this excuse will not save me from the embarrassing fact that I had, in fact, seen almost all the films that the movie referenced and knew enough about the rest to understand and appreciate the gags.
In its over-the-top and silly way, Date Movie tackles everything from my beloved Say Anything to Meet the Parents to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, to Meet the Parents, to Hitch. The plot meanders and is uninspired. There are a few too many scenes of gratuitous nudity or semi-nudity that serve no comedic purpose. And the film has the look of Canadian television. But as Julia (Alyson Hannigan) and Grant (Adam Campbell) go through the motions of spoofy romance, the parody is clever enough that you cannot help but laugh, and their ultimate union is more triumphant than those in many serious ‘date movies’. It’s not a good movie and seeing it in theatres would probably have forced me to point out all of its flaws. But if the only requirement is a bit of comedy that’s actually funny, Date Movie will do the trick.
